Former Magic No. 2 Pick Victor Oladipo Thriving With Miami Heat
The Orlando Magic hold the No. 1 pick in this year's NBA Draft, and the organization hasn't had a pick that high since 2013, when the team drafted Indiana's Victor Oladipo with the No. 2 pick.
After a roller coaster nine-year career, Oladipo is beginning to truly prove why he was taken with the No. 2 pick in the Eastern Conference Finals with the Miami Heat.
Joe Camporeale/USA Today Sports
USA Today
Getty Images
The Heat head into Game 4 Monday night with the chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead and whether or not star Jimmy Butler plays as he nurses a knee injury, Oladipo will play a massive role.
Despite playing just eight regular season games (including a 40-point effort against the Magic in the regular season finale), Oladipo has played in 11 of the team's 14 playoff games so far and scored double digits in five of those games.
But even when he isn't a big contributor on offense, Oladipo's defense has willed the Heat to victory.
Without Oladipo's defensive heroics, Miami could easily be trailing in the series as opposed to leading.
It's been a long road for Oladipo to get to this point in his career. After turning 30 last week, Oladipo finally feels at home with the Heat.
He didn't fully feel that way in his stops in Orlando, Oklahoma City, Indiana and Houston, and while he projected to be a different player at different spots in his career, perhaps his role with the Heat is the one that serves him best.
Oladipo will likely never live up to the potential he once had as the second overall pick, but he's proving how valuable he can be in a playoff series on a winning team. And when you're winning, it doesn't matter how you got there, but rather how you can maintain a spot at the top.
