Three Reasons Thunder Fans Will Love Victor Oladipo

Newest Thunder guard Victor Oladipo was introduced to the media for the first time on at Media day on Friday, and the former No. 2 pick in the draft seemed poised and comfortable as he fielded questions about him new home.

There’s no doubt he’ll be adored by Thunder fans everywhere, and here’s three reasons why:

He wants to be here

Oladipo didn’t have much of a choice when he was traded on to the Thunder on draft night, but he definitely doesn’t have the attitude of a player who just got shipped out of Florida. In fact, one would almost think Oladipo chose to play for the Thunder.

“I’m just happy, happy to be here,” Oladipo said confidently on Friday. “Oklahoma kind of reminds me of Indiana a little bit, as far as the town and as far as everybody’s so welcoming and nice, it’s definitely something I’m familiar with.”

In fact, Oladipo said that he’s not only happy to be here, but the third-year guard even imagined playing for the Thunder when he was still a member of the Orlando Magic.

“I literally thought about being here a year ago,” he said with a grin on his face. “And thought what it would be like to be on this team, and for it to actually happen, it’s a surreal experience and I know that it’s supposed to be the way it is now. That might sound crazy but I, definitely excited about it.”

Oladipo face an uncertainty after this season seeing he will become a restricted free agent, but he stressed that contract stuff is out of his control, and that he hopes to be with the Thunder for the long-term.

“I love this city; I know I’m going to love the organization, I already do and I’ve only been here a couple of weeks, so having that opportunity would definitely be a blessing.” Oladipo said. “But at the end of the day I only can control what I can control so I’m just worried about winning basketball games and building relationships with these guys so we can do something special this year.”

He wants to get better

Oladipo is one of the more athletic players in the entire NBA, and seeing he’s still young, the sky’s the limit for the former Hoosier.

After making a name for himself as a scrappy defender with the ability to create, Oladipo doesn’t want to be limited when it comes to his potential.

“I don’t just want to be a 3-point shooter, I don’t just want to be a defensive stopper, I want to be one of the best players in this league and in order to do that you have to affect the game on both ends and do multiple things,” Oladipo said.

With the talent he has, Oladipo can achieve those lofty goals he’s set, but it will come down to the work he puts in off the court by himself and with Thunder coaching staff. But that won’t likely be an issue, and Oladipo’s excitement to play under new coach Billy Donovan indicates that he’s willing and ready to learn every day.  

“I’m looking forward to playing for coach [Billy] Donovan in general,” Oladipo said. “I was a huge fan in college, he didn’t recruit me though, but it’s okay because life has a funny way of bringing things back around, if I would’ve went to Florida maybe I wouldn’t be here now.

“It’s pretty cool, man, I’m looking forward to playing for him, winning for him, and running through brick walls for him.”

The Westbrook & Oladipo bond is already strong

With two freakishly athletic guards on the same team, it’s no surprise Thunder fans are excited to see the “Slash Bros” unleashed, but it’s encouraging to see that both Oladipo and Russell Westbrook are just as excited. In fact, the two guys met up over the offseason in Los Angeles to train and build rapport.

“It’s funny because, Last summer or last year, I was thinking about ‘Man, I’ve got to find a way to get in the gym with this dude,’ now I’m in the gym with him every day,” Oladipo said. “It was pretty cool to go out there, and for him to take me under his wing like I’m his little brother. “

It was a pivotal chance for the two guys to build chemistry, but it’s not surprising to hear it was a competitive experience.

“It was very intense, a lot of trash talking, a lot of pushing each other, but at the end of the day you could tell our mentalities are very similar in that we both want to win.,” Oladipo said.

The competitive fire from both guys should be beneficial for the Thunder throughout the season, and Westbrook believes the duo will be two of the best stoppers in the NBA.

“Defensively I think we can be the best defensive backcourt in the league, just because we’re able to do different things at our size, using our length and our speed and I think that’s the biggest part of it,” Westbrook said.

Oladipo agreed with his new point guard, saying it came down to bringing the intensity night in and night out, but he also sees a learning opportunity in being around an elite player like Westbrook.

“It’s pretty cool to go out there and see how an all-star, one of the best players in our league, see how he works, and match it to what I was doing before and see how I need to improve, and see what I need to do in order to get better,” Oladipo said. “I’ve learned so much from being around him these first couple of months, so that’s crazy to see what it’s going to be like after being around him a whole year.

“I’m looking forward to it, I feel like we can do something special as a unit.”