There is something to be said for the ardent fandom that NBA fans express after making trips to the dentist. First, there was this Utah Jazz fan who expressed his dissatisfaction with the team's moves at the February deadline in 2018. More recently — after getting his wisdom teeth pulled out — Indiana Pacers fan Zach Pearson started gushing about one of his favorite players, Pacers star guard Victor Oladipo:

Pearson passed along his well-wishes to Oladipo, who is recovering from a ruptured quad tendon suffered in January.

Oladipo responded in turn, quoting Pearson's tweet to send out to his own Twitter followers:

ESPN also tweeted out Pearson's video, which is already en route to becoming a viral sensation. Pearson revealed how this all came together, via Ryan Eggers of 8 Points, 9 Seconds:

“My little brother asked me if I remembered who my favorite team was,” Pearson said. “And that’s when apparently I asked my girlfriend to film a message for Victor Oladipo, because I wanted to make sure he was alright. I don’t remember any of it.”

Pearson also didn’t expect much when he posted it. Or rather, when his girlfriend posted it. He was still a bit too loopy to type out the correct words for the Tweet.

“I thought my friends would see it, and [with] Pacers Twitter, you know, there’s a couple guys that’ll always respond,” Pearson said. “I was telling my mom on the couch ‘mom, it’s got 1200 views!’ … I was flipping out then, I had no idea it was gonna [eventually] do that good.”

Pearson was especially excited when Oladipo responded:

“I don’t think any moment has topped when Oladipo responded,” Pearson said. “I’ve been on Twitter for probably three years, and there’s no feeling that’s topped it. I look at my phone, and there’s Oladipo and my name tagged in it. Just knowing that he saw it felt so surreal.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Caitlin Clark with heart eyes while holding an ultrasound

Angelo Guinhawa ·

Tyrese Haliburton with the Pacers arena in the background, Bucks game winner

David Yapkowitz ·

Damian Lillard alongside Doc Rivers with the Bucks and Pacers logos in the background, injury

David Yapkowitz ·

For his part, Oladipo is hoping to make his return closer to December of this upcoming season, which would put him on track to help a Pacers team that reloaded in the offseason.

After being mostly underutilized as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Oladipo blossomed into a star in his first two seasons in Indiana.

He averaged over 23 points per game during the 2017-18 season while leading the NBA with 2.4 steals per game. Last year, he was averaging career highs in rebounds (5.6) and assists (5.2) in a combo guard role for the Pacers before he went down with that gruesome leg injury.

Although the Pacers stumbled into the playoffs without Oladipo and were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round, they were aggressive in free agency and could be a contender in the Eastern Conference should Oladipo return at full strength.