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Indiana Basketball: Victor Oladipo shows clutch gene in season debut

By Alec Lasley

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 05: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers dribbles the ball against the Houston Rockets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 5, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 05: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers dribbles the ball against the Houston Rockets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 5, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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The former Indiana basketball standout returned to the court for the first time this season and made his presence felt immediately.

It had been 372 days since Victor Oladipo had been on an NBA court, but on Wednesday night, the former Indiana basketball star showed why so many fans around the league were excited to get him back in the lineup.

In his first action of the 2019-20 season, Oladipo not only played a pivotal role in the Indiana Pacers gameplan, but showed his clutch genes late in the game when the Pacers needed him most. Down 100-97, Oladipo used his ‘mamba mentality’ and made sure the game was going to be decided with the ball in his hands. Nailing a game-tying three with nine seconds left in the game, Oladipo announced that he was back in a big way.

This isn’t the first time Oladipo has hit such a clutch shot, however. According to ESPN Stats and Info, the former Indiana Hoosier has hit a game-tying or go ahead three in the final 20 seconds of the fourth quarter or overtime three times since the start of the 2018 season. Despite only playing in 37 of the possible 130 games up until this point, the Pacers guard ranks first in the NBA in that category, tied with Paul George and Marcus Morris.

On the night Oladipo finished with nine points on 2-of-8 shooting, with four assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes of action in the 115-106 win over the Chicago Bulls. Coming into the game, the Pacers noted that Oladipo would be on a minutes restriction, with that number being around 24 minutes. Despite the big shot to send it into overtime, he wouldn’t see any action in the extra period.

After the game, Oladipo kept using the phrase, “Tough times don’t last, tough people do,” and that was his message all throughout his rehab coming back from the gruesome injury where he ruptured the quad tendon in his right knee in late January last year.

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While the Pacers (31-17) did just fine without Oladipo in the lineup up to this point in the season, currently the fifth seed – but just 2.5 games out of second – getting an all-star level player back like Oladipo will only bolster their chances of trying to make it to the NBA Finals.

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