In his first game back since last January, Indiana Pacers shooting guard Victor Oladipo dedicated a clutch shot to the late Kobe Bryant. Down three to the Chicago Bulls with 14.3 seconds left, the former Indiana Hoosier didn't take a lot of time to fire up a long three in the face of the defender to send the game to overtime.
The Pacers would end up winning 115-106 in overtime and postgame, Victor Oladipo would take the opportunity to dedicate his shot to Bryant, his daughter Gianna and the seven other passengers on the unfortunate helicopter crash this past weekend.
Victor Oladipo gets emotional when talking about his game-tying shot that sent the Pacers into OT:
"Mamba Mentality. That's for Kobe, GiGi, all the people that was on that helicopter." – Dipo pic.twitter.com/vZ6maB7cvj
— ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) January 30, 2020
It had been over a year since Oladipo had played in an NBA game but that didn't stop him from making an impact on Wednesday. In 21 minutes, the 6-foot-4 guard would record nine points, four assists and two rebounds.
Oladipo would also get a standing ovation from the crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse when he checked in for the first time with a few minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Overcome with emotions, Oladipo is one of many NBA players to pay homage to the Black Mamba. Some players have changed their jersey numbers or written on their shoes while some teams chose to take intentional penalties at the beginning of their games.
With Oladipo back for Indiana, the Pacers undoubtedly become a more dangerous team in the Eastern Conference. Prior to his injury last season, the two-time All-Star was averaging 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from deep.
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