Victor Oladipo isn't giving up hope on a return to the NBA and he wrote an open letter to NBA general managers in the Players' Tribune in hopes to convince one of them to give him another chance to return to the league.
Oladipo -- an All-American at Indiana University and an All-Star with the Pacers -- used the letter to remind NBA execs and readers of the improbability of his story. The son of Nigerian immigrants, he came off the bench at DeMatha Catholic High School in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C. and was a modestly coveted three-star recruit at Indiana. Though he was a high-level athlete, it took him most of his three years at Indiana to become a consistent offensive weapon. However, he was selected No. 2 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft and ascended to All-Star status when he came to the Pacers from the Thunder in the trade for Paul George in 2017.
Oladipo then ruptured his quadriceps in January of 2019 and never fully recovered. He hasn't played more than 42 games in an NBA season since and hasn't played a single NBA game since tearing his left patellar tendon in April of 2023 when he was playing with the Miami Heat.
Last season, however, he spent 26 games in the G League with the Wisconsin Herd, averaging 14.0 points per game. He's held open tryouts this summer hoping for another opportunity.
Oladipo, now 34, said he's inspired to keep trying to play by his daughter Naomi.
"As she grows up, and if she’s ever in a place where she wants to take lessons from my life, or bookmark pages from my story … I really just hope that this is the one she comes back to the most," Oladipo wrote. "I hope that this is the page she can turn to when it’s tough times. And I hope that when she does turn to it, she realizes she’s strong like her dad … but also that she’s allowed to show weakness like her dad. Because if it’s coming from a feeling that’s true, it’s all strength. And I’m already so proud of her."
Oladipo told GMs he simply wants another opportunity.
"I don’t know how my journey here is going to end. ... Maybe a team out there will give me a chance," he wrote. "Maybe no team will. That’s really up to you all. But if you’re in an NBA front office, and you took the time to read this: Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I can promise you one thing, always, about my basketball story ... from the first page to the last.
"It’s a love story."
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Former Pacers star Victor Oladipo makes emotional plea to NBA GMs for one more chance
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