There was a time when Victor Oladipo was one of the better players in the NBA. Perhaps we need to look no further than in 2017 and 2018 when the Maryland native was named to back-to-back All-Star teams with the Indiana Pacers.
But Oladipo, 30, hasn’t been able to make it through more than 42 games since 2018, suffering through a never-ending spell of knee injuries.
In 2018, it was a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee, which he’d need a total of 371 days in between games to recover. Four months later, he’d tear his quad again. Oladipo’s seemingly been dealing with injuries ever since.
Yet, after playing in just 16 games in 2020, 33 in 2021, and eight in 2022, Oladipo managed to appear in 42 regular season contests for the Heat heading into the playoffs. He finally appeared to have put his injury woes in the rearview mirror for now.
Until Game 3 of the Miami Heat’s first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat were leading 112-88 with 3:59 to go when Oladipo injured his left knee on a drive to the basket. He’d have to be helped off the court and did not return to the game.
While there has been no official update on Oladipo’s condition, coach Erik Spoelstra said he “feels like throwing up right now, but I don’t know what the diagnosis is. I want to stay positive on this.”