Victor Oladipo appears to have grasped the greatest secret of basketball — namely, the game is largely mental.
Victor Oladipo has all the physical gifts necessary to be a superstar, and that is not really open to debate. He is Orlando’s most dynamic athlete and a gifted playmaker, but to become that next-tier star the Magic need, Oladipo has to master the mental part of the game.
He has embraced that task and commented to Brett Pollakoff of FOX Sports, “the game is 20 percent physical, 80 percent mental…when I fix my mental I’ll be able to take that leap I need to. And I’m working on that right now.”
The mental aspects of the game of basketball are being picked up on the fly by Oladipo, who was billed as a defensive talent coming out of Indiana in 2013. While many figured Oladipo would at least have a passable offensive game, it has been surprisingly good in his first two seasons. He averaged more than 17 points per game last year in his sophomore NBA season.
But the opportunity is still there for more.
Oladipo had a 25 percent usage rate last season and decreased his turnovers to 2.8 per game, showing an improved efficiency and usage of the ball in his hands. Further improvements for Oladipo do not really start in the weight room or with conditioning, they begin in the film room and in his mind.
He commented the biggest detail he has to grasp is “uncertainty.”
He said it is vital to know what to expect and that “now (I know) where I’m going to get my shots on the court, it’s time to just lock in, you know what I mean? Play with a confidence that’s unshakable.” That confidence will be needed for the Magic as a team without an established go-to scorer.
Oladipo is in the mix with newly re-inked Tobias Harris and franchise center Nikola Vucevic as the Magic’s go-to player, but it is a role largely unmanned as the Magic enter this season. If Oladipo can get a good grasp on what he needs to do, the Magic are his team to lead.
Thunderous Intentions
Oladipo is also looking forward to a future with new coach Scott Skiles. He said he called Skiles the day he was hired, commenting “he knows what he’s doing…you could just tell it’s a different feeling. It’s a different vibe, but it’s going to help us a lot. And I’m really looking forward to playing for him.”
Oladipo is the kind of talent Skiles can really sink his teeth into, too. A heady and aggressive defender, Oladipo will find himself at home in Skiles’ trapping defenses. Oladipo’s ability to get the Magic out in transition is invaluable. The team now features enough finishers and shooters to make the whole scheme work, and Oladipo is the second-best playmaker on the Magic behind Elfrid Payton.
Though Payton is the point, the Magic have used Oladipo there in the past and he is going to be a playmaker still. After averaging over four assists per game in his first two NBA seasons, the chance is there for him to become a very dynamic 20/5/5 player—and those types are not that common.
Five.
Outside of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook, no one else did last season. That has to be a benchmark for Oladipo, lofty though it may seem.
But for now, Oladipo has to become the type of wing talent the Magic can really rely on every night. It is going to require the game to slow down for him, that the mental aspects of it all come together.
He has made statements affirming it is, but sports psychology is a tricky thing. Oladipo’s confidence will be not just be derived on the basis of his physical strengths and advantages, but also on what he knows he can do within an opposing NBA defense.
With a nucleus intact from last season all eager to experience team growth, the equation is all but set for Oladipo to have a breakout season and possibly fill that role of crunch time performer for the Magic.