After four promising years in Orlando, Victor Oladipo’s budding stardom was the carnage of Russell Westbrook’s MVP campaign. While the former No. 2 pick saw his production dip in various areas last season, Oladipo tucked away a piece of Westbrook’s game in his suitcase as a souvenir, primed to unleash it in his new home.
Oladipo’s All-Star-caliber season mirrors Westbrook’s in an increased aggressiveness on the glass, snagging rebounds and pushing in transition to create simpler looks for an Indiana Pacers team devoid of many dynamic scorers.
This season, Oladipo sports a career-high 8.8 percent defensive rebounding rate (4.7 defensive rebounds per game, also a career high), sparking 5.2 transition possessions per game (sixth in the NBA and 2.2 more than his final season in Orlando) and shooting 55 percent on such plays.
Oladipo’s savvy on the glass and in the open court is manifesting itself in a vastly improved Pacers offense as they rank sixth in the NBA in offensive rating (16th last season).
Much like the rest of his offensive arsenal, Oladipo brings the whole kitchen sink — food-trimmed silverware included — when blitzing down court after a rebound:
Immediately upon grabbing the rebound, Oladipo breaks into a sprint as to leave behind slow-footed bigs and wings. But once he enters Jayson Tatum’s orbit, he slows down the tempo and harnesses a cruel in-and-out dribble before bursting to the rim, taking the rookie to school as though he were back in class at Duke.
Although Oladipo is converting 66.7(!!) percent of his shots at the rim this season, drives to the cup are not the only way the former Indiana Hoosier finds easy hoops in transition.
Shooting 42 percent on pull-ups 3s this season, Oladipo can glide down the court at a pace just below top gear, surveying the defense, before canning a shot beyond the arc:
Oladipo’s penchant for snagging rebounds and pushing the ball in transition has become a lifeblood of the Pacers offense. Following a defensive board, Indiana is scoring 1.11 points per possession, the fifth-best mark in the league.
After ranking 26th in fastbreak points and 28th in fastbreak efficiency last season, Indiana sits third and fourth in those respective categories this season. Though Oladipo is not the only reason for this success as teammates Darren Collison (1.11 PPP, 57th percentile), Thaddeus Young (1.24 PPP, 75th percentile) and Bojan Bogdanovic (1.25 PPP, 78th percentile) have proven to be an adept supporting cast for their star in the open floor.
The 25-year-old recognizes this and avoids tunnel vision, serving as a democratic ruler in transition, hitting his teammates for scores:
Collison leaks out to the left side of the floor and Oladipo, cognizant that Paul George is tasked with defending both Bogdanovic and Collison on the perimeter, sends an outlet pass to his point guard for an open 3.
The star of Indiana holds a run-and-gun offensive philosophy in transition, which has permeated throughout the rest of the team. Guys are more willing to charge down the floor with the reward of an easy basket potentially awaiting them.
Note how Myles Turner takes off galloping toward the hoop once Oladipo corrals the board and in the open floor, Oladipo locks eyes with Turner as to say, “continue running hard, I’ll hit you for a bucket.”
Those types of plays matter. They encourage teammates to beam into high gear after a rebound and instill the concept of an unselfish leader, promoting the uptempo offense that has helped Indiana defy many preseason expectations.
Some of Oladipo’s improved rebounding numbers can be attributed to the move from Oklahoma City, who ranked seventh in defensive rebounds, headlined by rebounding mavens Steven Adams and Westbrook. This season, Indiana is just 20th on the glass, heightening the importance of each Oladipo rebound.
While 75 percent of Oladipo’s rebounds are deemed “uncontested” by NBA.com, there’s value in the ability to circumvent the need for a big to grab the board and find a primary ball handler. Such instances can bog down a team’s transition offense and potentially lead to turnovers if a guard is blanketed by the defense or the big man fails to make the correct read.
Watch as Young, rather than simply toss it to Collison immediately after the rebound, launches an errant pass which Jose Calderon takes advantage of:
Avoiding these plays has kept Indiana’s turnover numbers low as the Pacers sit sixth in fewest giveaways per game.
Oladipo’s growth as a rebounder has proven beneficial for this Pacers squad, but his quick hands, dogged off-ball defense and help-side wherewithal have catalyzed similar looks on the break.
He’s averaging a career-high two steals per game (seventh in the NBA) and posting a career-best 2.9 percent steal rate (eighth in the NBA). Oladipo snuffs out dribble-handoff sets and swipes the rock from opposing big men to spur fastbreak opportunities:
The 6-foot-4 wing’s high basketball IQ shines through on the defensive end of the floor. He brings the double against stone-handed bigs and wings when necessary, masks openings with timely rotations and plays the passing lanes at opportune moments.
Here, Oladipo reads the play and rotates into the paint to interrupt the incoming Rondae Hollis-Jefferson after both Young and Collison stay with Jeremy Lin on the pick and roll. Once Lin dishes a bounce pass to Hollis-Jefferson, Oladipo darts to intercept it and profits an uncontested dunk.
The changes to Oladipo’s offensive repertoire are obvious. He’s more confident off the bounce and displays myriad more finishing guile. The impact his scoring and playmaking has upon the Pacers is evident. But his cunning off-ball skills and a newfound aggressiveness on the glass (an Oklahoman export) have resulted in a Pacers team that scores efficiently and at a high rate in transition.
Victor Oladipo’s Most Improved candidacy could rest simply in his improvements as a scorer. But on the other end, Oladipo doesn’t rest on his laurels. He hunts for rebounds, forces turnovers and has his teammates bounding down the court in transition, all of which have altered Indiana’s offense for the better.
All stats and videos via Basketball-Reference, NBA.com, Inpredictable and 3Ball and are accurate as of Jan. 17.
