Magic's Victor Oladipo wore Google Glass to NBA draft 2013
Victor Oladipo wore Google Glass to the NBA draft. (@NBA)
Victor Oladipo has no plans to blend in with the crowd.
That much was made clear back in March when Yahoo! Sports profiled the Indiana guard and noted that his parents -- Chris and Joan -- didn't believe basketball was the end-all, be-all of their son's existence.
Chris has no use for an extracurricular frivolity like basketball. Joan, a registered nurse, loves it. Chris once wanted to send Victor to China for a summer to learn martial arts and improve his self-discipline, even though it would mean missing key exposure on the AAU recruiting trail. Joan wouldn't hear of it, and won that argument.
"He is more the academic side," Joan Oladipo said. "I'm both, the academic and sports side. I'm trying to make sure our children are well-rounded. It's important to be athletic and outgoing. You can't just be a bookworm all the time."
Oladipo is just about the opposite of a reserved bookworm. In the same piece, teammate Will Sheehy said: "If [Oladipo] walks into a room, he wants everyone to look at him. But … he gives the same amount of attention to others that he does to himself. He tries to touch everyone's life. He takes time out of his day to go talk to little kids and do things I would never think about doing."
There's no doubt: Everyone was looking at Oladipo when he entered the draft room on Thursday, sporting the futuristic Google Glass as an unprecedented accessory to his customary draft day suit and tie ensemble.
What's Google Glass? A pair of glasses that allow you to do many of the same tasks performed on an iPhone, including text messaging, getting directions, searching Google and using apps. The glasses -- which cost $1,500 in their original iteration -- won't be available until next year.
A side view of Victor Oladipo's Google Glass. (@TomLorenzo)
Glasses or no glasses, Oladipo said Thursday that he can envision himself enjoying life as the newest member of the Magic.
"It's like a weight vest you took off after running five miles," he said of being drafted with the No. 2 overall pick. "It's relaxing, man. But at the same time, you know it's just getting started, man. I'm just looking forward to getting there, getting to Orlando, meeting my teammates. I can't wait to meet my teammates. Just create a bond with them. That will definitely help us on the court and go to war with them every night."
