When it comes to Indiana Pacers shooting guard Victor Oladipo, the rising star continues his ascent from just a piece of the Paul George deal to the face of the Pacers' franchise. According to a tweet on Sunday night from senior NBA writer Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders, Pacers head coach Nate McMillan wants to develop Oladipo into a franchise player in Indiana and be able to build a team around him.
“He’s a guy we’re trying to develop into a franchise player,” coach McMillan said of Oladipo. “He’s come in with a lot of confidence. We’re trying to figure out what he’s capable of doing. We knew he had potential.”
On the Monday morning episode of ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski's podcast “The Woj Pod,” Oladipo also opened up about what he took from his time spent with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Russell Westbrook and his work ethic.
“One thing I learned from him is he’s on 110 every day,” Oladipo said of his time as Westbrook's teammate. “The thing about me is that he’s on 110, I’m trying to get to 115. That’s something he kinda instilled in me without doing anything. Just being himself and that’s how I am here.”
Oladipo, who is currently the Pacers' leading scorer this season heading into Monday night's contest with 24.4 points per game, said that Westbrook's presence as a teammate really prepared him for his time with Indiana.
“I feel like my course to get to this point has been strategic in a sense,” Oladipo said. “Every year I went through, was for a purpose and I learned something to prepare me for the position I’m in now. That year in Oklahoma, playing with Russ and those guys, going to the playoffs and experiencing what I experienced, it prepared me for now.”
During the first quarter of tonight's game between the Pacers and Boston Celtics at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Oladipo also kept a shooting streak going when he drained a three-pointer for the 28th consecutive game.
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