Victor Oladipo was once one of the brightest stars in the NBA, an All-Star guard who led the Indiana Pacers to the playoffs and seemed poised to become a franchise cornerstone for years to come. But a single injury changed everything. Now, for the first time, Oladipo is opening up in heartbreaking detail about how a botched surgery shattered his prime years and left him questioning everything.
On the Above The Rim with DH12 podcast, Oladipo described the moment his life changed during a game in January 2019 when he ruptured the quad tendon in his right knee. The injury itself was devastating, but the emotional trauma hit just as hard.
“It was tough, like it felt like my soul left my body when I first got hurt, if I’m being honest with you. It felt like that. It was one of the saddest moments I’ve ever experienced as an individual, because you see how it’s like, it’s almost like, you know, you get to the mountaintop, and instead of putting a flag there, you get crucified.”
“That’s what it felt like. It felt like I died on that floor, honestly. If I’m being honest with you, that’s exactly what it felt like. It felt like death. And as I fell, I remember there being a dent in my leg, and I remember, literally, as I fall, I look up, and could see my mom.”
“I couldn’t see no one else in the arena. Like, I could see my mom, I could see my mom’s eyes. And I’m just like, nah. And then it’s funny, she walks down. As soon as we make eye contact, she starts walking down. And then they put me on the stretcher.”
“And then there’s a video of me going off on the stretcher and my mom reaching for me, and a lady pulling her hand back because they don’t know it’s my mom. And it’s just funny, because I ain’t start getting emotional until I’m in the back, and I’m going back to get X-rays.”
“And I start breaking down and crying. And obviously, it’s just like, I was told that would never happen to me. In the locker room, in that locker room before that happened, I was told by someone else that the odds of that happening to you are slim to none. And then it actually happened.”
But fate had other plans. And the real tragedy was yet to be revealed.
After being traded to Miami, Oladipo hoped for a fresh start. However, after only a few games with the Heat, his knee gave him trouble again. On what seemed like a routine play, he felt another tweak.
That’s when a Miami doctor finally told him the truth: the surgery performed to repair his quad years earlier was flawed.
“I got to Miami. I played four games, five games and then on the best game that I was having there, I get a backdoor from Bam, and then I get a tweak in my leg, this knee. And I’m like, man, come on, man.”
“I start jogging back. I’m seeing I can’t put no pressure on. And I’m like, what the f**k? So then I go back, and then that’s when the doctors told me.”
“They said, I mean, I’m sorry no one told you this, I’m just going to have to tell you that, if you were to have continued this, you’re probably going to tear your quad again, because the way the doctor did your surgery is, it’s probably better for a 90-year-old woman.”
“So then at that point, you know what was crazy though? If I’m being honest with you, I was relieved… ‘Cause I knew it wasn’t me. I thought there was something wrong with me.”
Since his last appearance during the 2023 season, Oladipo has not played another minute of NBA basketball. He’s shifted to media work, appearing as an analyst for ESPN while taking time to reflect and recover. But don’t count him out yet.
On the same podcast, Oladipo made it clear: he’s aiming for a comeback.
For fans of the former All-Star, that’s a ray of hope. His story isn’t done. The pain was real, the betrayal even more so, but Oladipo’s resolve?
Still unbreakable.
