Background and career
Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo ( OH-lə-DEE-poh; born May 4, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the 2012–13 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 Indiana 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. In January 2021, he was traded to the Houston Rockets, but was dealt to the Miami Heat just two months later. He underwent season-ending surgery after just four games with Miami and made his playing return in March 2022. Oladipo is also a singer, having released an EP, Songs for You, in 2017, his debut full-length album V.O. in 2018, and an afrobeats-inspired EP, TUNDE, in 2023.
Oladipo was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, and raised in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. His mother, a nurse, and father are both originally from Nigeria. Oladipo's parents immigrated to the United States in 1985, where they were married. Oladipo has three sisters, including a pair of twins.
Oladipo played CYO basketball at St. Jerome Academy in Hyattsville, Maryland. While going to DeMatha High School, also in Hyattsville, he was on the basketball team. He remained there until 2010.
Oladipo chose to play basketball at Indiana University, turning down offers from Notre Dame, Maryland, Xavier and others. Upon his commitment to the Hoosiers, he said, "It's like a basketball atmosphere everywhere you go....Bloomington, Indiana is a basketball town. That's perfect." He joined during the 2010–11 season, playing 32 games with five starts as a freshman, averaging 7.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 18.0 minutes per game. As a sophomore during the 2011–12 season, Justin Albers from Inside the Hall referred him as "Indiana's most improved player this season". In the 2012 NCAA tournament, the Hoosiers lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Kentucky. In 36 games, he made 34 starts and averaged 10.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals in 26.7 minutes per game. In the 2012–13 season, despite an Indiana roster deep with talent, Oladipo emerged as one of the nation's biggest stars. Midway through the season, ESPN reporter Eamonn Brenann wrote, "In 2½ seasons in Bloomington, Oladipo has morphed from a raw athletic specimen to a defensive specialist/energy glue guy – he became a hit with IU fans for holding his hand in front of his face after dunks at home, typically after a steal he himself created – into a sudden, stunning, bona fide collegiate star." Due in part to Oladipo's leadership, the Indiana Hoosiers finished the 2012–13 season as the outright Big Ten champions. At the end of the regular season, Oladipo ranked fourth in the country in field goal percentage (61.4), on pace to have the highest field goal percentage by any guard since the 1996–97 season. Among Wooden Award finalists, he had the best net rating, which is the difference between points produced and points allowed per 100 possessions. Oladipo produced 42 more points than he allowed per 100 possessions. In 2012–13, Oladipo played and started in all 36 games, averaging 13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.2 steals in 28.4 minutes per game. He was subsequently named the Sporting News Men's College Basketball Player of the Year, the National Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American by the USBWA and Sporting News. In conference honors, he was named a unanimous pick to the first-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media, and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the year.
On April 9, 2013, at a press conference with Tom Crean, Oladipo announced his decision to forgo his senior season at Indiana and enter the 2013 NBA draft. He was projected as a top-15 pick by ESPN and CBS Sports. Oladipo was invited to sit in the "green room" during the draft and was selected second overall by the Orlando Magic, later signing his rookie-scale contract with the Magic on July 8. When the 2013 rookie class convened for its annual photo shoot and filled out its NBA.com Rookie Survey, the class voted Oladipo as the best defender, the co-favorite 2013–14 Rookie of the Year (with CJ McCollum), the co-favorite to have the best career (with Kelly Olynyk) and second-most athletic (behind Tony Mitchell).
On December 3, 2013, Oladipo recorded his first career triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a double overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Rookie Michael Carter-Williams of the 76ers also recorded his first career triple-double in the same game, marking the first and only time in NBA history that two rookies have recorded triple-doubles in the same game. The last time that two players had recorded their first career triple-doubles in the same game was when Detroit Pistons' pair Donnie Butcher and Ray Scott did it on March 14, 1964 (they were not rookies). It was also the first time that two opponents had recorded triple-doubles in the same game since Caron Butler and Baron Davis had done so on November 23, 2007. During the month of February, Oladipo participated in the Rising Stars Challenge and the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. Oladipo went on to finish second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Carter-Williams. On October 24, 2014, Oladipo was ruled out indefinitely after suffering a facial fracture in practice the previous day. Two days later, the Magic exercised their third-year team option on Oladipo's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2015–16 season. He made his return from injury on November 14 wearing a facial protection mask as he made his season debut against the Milwaukee Bucks. In 25 minutes off the bench, he recorded 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in a 101–85 win. During the 2015 NBA All-Star Weekend, Oladipo competed in the Rising Stars Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest, finishing second in the dunk contest behind Zach LaVine. On March 4, 2015, Oladipo scored a career-high 38 points on 15-of-25 shooting in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. On October 25, 2015, the Magic exercised their fourth-year team option on Oladipo's rookie scale contract, extending the contract through the 2016–17 season. Five days later, he recorded his second career triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in a double-overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He also hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into double overtime. Oladipo averaged just 12.8 points per game over his first 12 games of the season. Head coach Scott Skiles moved Oladipo to a bench role for the Magic's November 25 game against the New York Knicks. Oladipo continued coming off the bench following this performance, averaging 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.4 blocks over his first eight games off the bench. On January 4, he started for the Magic for the first time since November 23. In 34 minutes of action, he recorded a team-high 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. On March 18, he scored a career-high 45 points in a 109–103 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the ninth player in franchise history to score 40 points in a game and the first Magic player to do so since Arron Afflalo in December 2013. Oladipo missed the final three games of the season with a concussion.
