Happy birthday to One of the Nigerian Basketball Stars, Victor Oladipo as he turns 28 today.
Kehinde Babatunde Victor Adrian Oladipo (born May 4, 1992) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association.
He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the 2012-2013 season he was named the Sporting News Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year, the Co-NABC Defensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American by the USBWA and Sporting News.
That year he was also named the winner of the Adolph Rupp Trophy, given annually to the top player in men’s NCAA Division I basketball.
Oladipo was drafted with the second overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic and went on to be named to the NBA All-Rookie first team.
He was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016, and then traded to the Pacers in 2017. He became a first-time NBA All-Star, led the league in steals, was named to the All-Defensive First Team and the All-NBA Third Team, and won the NBA Most Improved Player Award in his first season with Indiana.
Despite an injury-riddled 2018–19 season, including a season-ending injury in January 2019, Oladipo was named an Eastern Conference All-Star reserve for the second straight year.