Victor Oladipo’s coach says the Miami Heat guard looks even better than last season
Although the Miami Heat didn’t get a star player in the 2022 NBA offseason, guard Victor Oladipo could finally regain his league star status this season.
Oladipo hasn’t been an All-Star since the 2018-19 season and has dealt with several serious injuries since then. However, the 30-year-old shooting guard seems incredibly confident that 2022-23 will be the season in which he returns to prominence.
Oladipo has been sharing extremely confident messages throughout the offseason. He recently declared that he is one of the best players in the world and also predicted that his doubters will “hold the L” this season.
According to his coach, Oladipo is absolutely progressing and “looking better than ever.”
“Victor Oladipo’s trainer texted me and said, ‘Vic looks better than ever. It looks even better than last year,” Wes Goldberg said on a recent episode of the “Locked on Heat” podcast.
That should be a piece of music to the ears of Heat fans everywhere. Oladipo returned from quadriceps surgery at the end of the 2021-22 season and played in just eight regular season games.
Going into the playoffs last season, it wasn’t even clear if he would have a place in the Heat’s rotation or not. He played in 15 of the team’s playoff games, starting one of them. He averaged 10.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals in just 24.5 minutes per game.
If he can build on that playoff production and carry it into the regular season, he will definitely serve as an effective two-way player for the Heat.
Interestingly, the biggest obstacle to Oladipo truly regaining his star status next season may be his teammate Tyler Herro.
Herro won a Sixth Man of the Year award last season and has made it abundantly clear that he intends to return to the Heat’s starting lineup this season.
Oladipo or Herro could start at the Heat’s shooting guard spot next season. Whoever doesn’t start is arguably one of the best bench players in the league this season.
Given that fans are aware of both Herro and Oladipo’s personal goals, the competition for the starting shooting guard spot is likely to be incredibly intense. This can only be considered good news for the Heat.