3/8/2022 basketball

After nearly a year, Victor Oladipo returns to floor for Miami Heat

Alec Lasley • TheHoosier

Senior Writer

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After nearly a full year, Victor Oladipo returned to the floor last night for the Miami Heat in a 123-106 win over the Houston Rockets. Oladipo was dealing with a second quad injury that has limited his play over much over the last three years.

Oladipo played 15 minutes off of the bench for Miami and scored 11 points on 4-of-7 from the floor. He added four assists and one rebound.

"I'm still getting stronger. Still getting better," Oladipo said after the win. "That was a great first go-round, getting my feet wet. But I'm excited and looking forward to the year. Just gotta keep getting better. It's not always going to be perfect, but that's ok. My mentality will always be the same. I've been resilient since I could breathe. I'm not gonna stop now."

After nearly a full year, Victor Oladipo returned to the floor last night for the Miami Heat.

Coming into the game, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said Oladipo would be playing on a minutes restriction and that seems to be the strategy moving forward for the current No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Heat currently hold a record of 44-22 and sit three games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia 76ers.

Oladipo is in his ninth season with his fifth different team -- and second season with Miami. He has played just 34 games since the 2019-20 season and hasn't played over 70 games since the 2017-18 season.

The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Oladipo is a two-time NBA All-Star (2018, 2019) and was on the All-NBA Third-Team in 2018.

Oladipo played in 104 games in three seasons at Indiana (2010-13) where he averaged 10.7 points 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals for his career. He was a consensus First-Team All-American in 2013.