Victor Oladipo had a stellar post-All-Star Break run last season, raising hopes for his season. Once again, Oladipo is going through a tear once again.
Toward the end of the 2015 season, Victor Oladipo was having his moment. He was beginning to make his turn and become a dominating force. His scoring was up, he was finishing at the rim and becoming everything everyone imagined when the Magic took him with the second pick in the 2013 Draft.
Here was his moment. After the All-Star Break, Oladipo averaged 20.3 points and 4.5 assists per game on 46.7 percent effective field goal percentage. Those are not perfect numbers, but another summer of development would get Oladipo over the top.
Right?
Another half of a season or more passed and Oladipo was as inconsistent as ever. He was not finishing at the rim or getting to the foul line. The jumper seemed as suspect as everyone believe it was on Draft night.
The All-Star moment felt a mirage. The questions rose about Oladipo and his future.
Oladipo was never worried. He has always had supreme confidence about himself and his game. As he struggled earlier in the year, he knew things would turn around for him. That is how it always goes for Oladipo.
And then it turned.
Why or how things finally clicked in for Oladipo is unclear but it has clicked again. And Oladipo is going on his post-All-Star surge again.
Monday against the Boston Celtics, Oladipo did it again with 25 points and eight rebounds on 10-for-17 shooting. He was a constant source for offense for a Magic team struggling to get past the Celtics’ difficult backcourt.
Even Oladipo had his struggles too. But that did not diminish his fight. Oladipo was hustling all over the floor even through the frustration that was a growing deficit. Oladipo would be the one to set the tone because of the three captains for the Magic to start the season, Oladipo was the only one on the floor (Tobias Harris had been traded and Nikola Vucevic was out with an injury).
As much as anything that is what Oladipo has done as the season seemed to get too far away from the Magic and the Playoff dreams became more fantasy and (eventually) non existent.
He followed up a career-high 45 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers with 21 points on 9-for-19 shooting against the Toronto Raptors. Not the strongest effort, but still a solid performance to follow up his career night.
Against the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, Oladipo put up big numbers. In fact, Oladipo has scored 20 or more points in five straight games and six of his past nine games.
Since the All-Star Break, Oladipo has averaged 21.0 points per game and 3.4 assists per game on a stellar 54.1 percent effective field goal percentage. His jump shooting has skyrocketed, making 49.2 percent of his jumpers. His midrange jumper has become consistent. Oladipo has spots and he gets to them with ease.
Again, Oladipo is beginning to look like an All Star again. And just at the right moment, as always. Oladipo is eligible for an extension this summer. This is his audition for the free contract top rookies always get.
That will come in the future. That tough decision falls on Rob Hennigan and his staff to sort through — with Evan Fournier‘s restricted free agency and the need for roster machinations to come too.
Oladipo though is making his case. Once again.
He is putting on his post-All-Star show and making everyone believe in what he could be once again.
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There is that hounding defense, keeping opposing guards on notice. There is that boundless energy seeming bringing the Magic out of the malaise. There is the scoring and driving, the whirling dervishes at the basket and the rim. Complete now with a finish.
Oladipo has improved as the season has gone on. He is peaking at this point of the season. The point where things are supposed to matter most. The Magic certainly have to be pleased that Oladipo is ramping his game up come Playoff time, even if there are no Playoffs to go for.
He struggled with consistency for the full 82 games, but has shown that ceiling is still there ready to be achieved. Finding a way to add wins into that equation would help clarify the lingering questions about him.
Once again, the story for the end of the season is about where Oladipo’s ceiling is and whether he can reach it. The same question the Magi chad entering this season.