Victor Oladipo has been a revelation in Indiana, as the Pacers’ guard has gone from a somewhat-disappointing No. 2 overall draft pick to an honest-to-god superstar for the most surprising team in the league. His talent has always been undeniable, but until this year, Oladipo had never really put it all together.
Now, Indiana is sitting at 16-11, good for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Oladipo is 10th in the league in scoring at 24.5 points per game, while his Player Efficiency Rating this season is good for 15th-best in the NBA.
Because this is all happening with the Pacers and because of the trade that sent him to the franchise, everything Oladipo does invariably gets compared to former Indiana star Paul George. After Oladipo went for a career-high 47 points in a 126-106 win over Denver on Sunday night, he addressed these comparisons and why he’s getting “sick and tired” of them.
This from #Victor Oladipo, on the trade that brought him to #Pacers – "I'm kind of getting sick and tired of the comparisons with Paul George and myself. He's moved on. I moved on. I'm happy here, he's happy there. I wish him all the best. I'm feathery, right here as a Pacer."
— Clifton Brown (@CliftonGBrown) December 11, 2017
An unfortunate reality is that players who are traded for one another will always get compared to some extent. This is especially true in this scenario, as George and the Thunder have really struggled while Oladipo and the Pacers are thriving. With how one-sided the trade that sent George to Oklahoma City seemed at the time, this is a surprise to just about everyone.
But it’s also totally fair that Oladipo isn’t a fan of everything he does getting couched in a comparison to George. This is a moment and a platform he’s been waiting for, and now that he has it, he’s thriving. Comparing or contrasting it to what George did at the same spot (or, really, what’s happening in Oklahoma City right now) makes it more about a head-to-head with those two players and not as two separate, unrelated things.
Both are great, and it’s totally fair that Oladipo would rather they are viewed as individuals as opposed to two guys who are forever linked at the hip.
