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Oladipo in Orlando.
It seems like an Orlando beat writer’s fantasy, but this dream came to fruition when the Orlando Magic drafted SG Victor Oladipo second overall in the 2013 NBA Draft.
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For the fantasy basketball community, Oladipo walks into an ideal situation. Orlando doesn’t have much of a star-studded backcourt, as PG Jameer Nelson is nothing special and SG Aaron Afflalo has already showed what he is capable of. The rookie will be coming off the bench in the beginning of the year, but I fully expect him to win one of the backcourt jobs by the end of the year.
O-Dog is a natural finisher and showed that he can throw down some thunderous dunks throughout his time in Indiana. He made a living out of rattling the rim in the Big Ten and had every NBA general manger gushing over his unique skill set.
Oladipo matured drastically as an all-around player last year with the Hoosiers and brings a Josh Smith-style of intensity to the backcourt. He averaged 13.6 points per contest, which was up from 10.8 points in 2011, and he was the main spark for a team that ranked number one in the nation for a period of time.
Oladipo is also an above-average defender. On top of his scoring totals, Oladipo also averaged 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.2 steals, and an underrated 0.8 block per game. He will be able to fill a box score like none of the other rookies in this class.
Orlando has stated that they will even play the rookie at point guard this season. The move will no doubt make the 21-year-old point guard-eligible this season, which will cause his fantasy stock to skyrocket. His skill set will allow him to add plenty of steals and boards, but extra time at the point could cause his assist totals to drastically increase.
One of Oladipo’s main shortcomings, though, is his jumper. The guard is ironically not a very strong jump shooter and it is the one facet of his game that needs he needs to improve. He will still get minutes regardless of his scoring totals, but he still must get in the gym a little more to work on his shot.
Oladipo will be worth a pick anywhere after the seventh round and should be one of the first rookies of the board. He will field both guard positions and his ability to contribute in every category will make him a fantasy-favorite right out of the blocks.
Adam McGill is the Senior Fantasy Sports Writer at Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @adammcgill83, like him on Facebook, or add him to you networks on Google here or here.
