Victor Oladipo attempting NBA comeback

[CobraCommander]

Why not -

LeBron 40…. He just needs to make a roster anywhere on earth.

I’m pulling for him

[HMFFL]

Let "Thingamajig" back in the league. He can sing the National Anthem and be the halftime show.

https://youtu.be/2sUED6AXq-8?si=HH6auGPGhUtejSlz

[magee]

We'll see if he is or not. I hope he gets one last chance to prove himself. Would be dope to see him go back to Indiana for this year.

[Godymas]

The last time he played more than 42 games was in 2018. He sucked a lot of ass in his half-season with Miami in 2023.

He's toast. This is like the usual John Wall comeback stuff. He might play some games, but the odds of him being any good are pretty low. He's been dog-ass for more than his last 100 games in the league. That's not apt to change much from not playing the game for two years and being deeper into his 30s. Hell, he was crap in 2019 in a season where he was mystifyingly selected to the All-Star game.

This is going no place remarkable.

Reminds me of when Dion Waiters held an open workout at a middle school to attempt his comeback lol obviously no one offered him a contract.

Or that time Isaiah Thomas broke down in tears cause he dropped 81 in a Pro-Am game

Which, I know he’s been thru a lot, but cmon now

[tsherkin]

OK, I'll re-phrase that then. Using those specific terms to describe someone's basketball acumen comes across as disrespectful. I'd expect that verbiage from a teenager on NBA Twitter, and generally not from a poster on here (who also happens to be a forum moderator).

And?

[JimmyPlopper]

If he needs money he should record an album. He has a great voice

[GrindCityHustle]

It was always fun getting him in 2k for cheap. That one season he had with Indy was really great.

That said he is basically Brandon Roy type done.

[JJ_PR]

Another player that was selected before Giannis Antetokounmpo in the 2013 draft.

Oladipo was a beast during his peak.

[og15]

If he needs money he should record an album. He has a great voice

Great voice is not the only or even the primary requirement for making an album that will sell though

The last time he played more than 42 games was in 2018. He sucked a lot of ass in his half-season with Miami in 2023.

He's toast. This is like the usual John Wall comeback stuff. He might play some games, but the odds of him being any good are pretty low. He's been dog-ass for more than his last 100 games in the league. That's not apt to change much from not playing the game for two years and being deeper into his 30s. Hell, he was crap in 2019 in a season where he was mystifyingly selected to the All-Star game.

This is going no place remarkable.

Reminds me of when Dion Waiters held an open workout at a middle school to attempt his comeback lol obviously no one offered him a contract.

Or that time Isaiah Thomas broke down in tears cause he dropped 81 in a Pro-Am game

Which, I know he’s been thru a lot, but cmon now

Basketball is the identity of many guys, understandably so, and being in the NBA was the pinnacle of their achievement, so not being able to be at that level anymore while still young enough and feeling you have more to prove is not easy for many guys to come to terms with, again, understandably so.

[SerialChiller]

Love his determination and work ethic despite the bad injury luck, wishing him the best.

[otownflava21]

When is the last time one of these type of comebacks worked?

Jordan with Washington, I'd imagine, though that wasn't injury-prompted.

Derrick Rose had a pretty viable career after. He was a journeyman, he didn't play a lot of games, but he made it work for like a decade.

Shawn Livingston and Grant Hill

[homecourtloss]

Once an NBA player begins a decline (especially a steep decline), it's almost always irrevocable. When it's injury related, it's even more of a certainty, but even with non-injury declines, there's almost no way of getting h back to being a positive impact player.

longevity is so underrated by many (usually for obvious reasons in order to diminish a certain player)--few players have long shelf lives of being g positive impact players even if they're healthy because the game micro-evolves all the time and the competition gets greater and greater as the game draws take talent from all parts of the globe now.

[NO-KG-AI]

When is the last time one of these type of comebacks worked?

Jordan with Washington, I'd imagine, though that wasn't injury-prompted.

Derrick Rose had a pretty viable career after. He was a journeyman, he didn't play a lot of games, but he made it work for like a decade.

Shawn Livingston and Grant Hill

Eh, still not the same. Neither were washed out of the league and attempting to make a comeback in their 30’s after a few years off

[Mirotic12]

Have to give Oladipo props for training hard and doing his best to make a comeback, and I agree that he is washed and wouldn't be NBA quality at this stage of his career. However I think using the terms "sucked a lot of ass", "dog-ass" and "crap" to describe his play is pretty harsh. Even not being at NBA standard he would still do well in a lot of worldwide professional leagues if he chose to go in that direction.

"International pros" that play as practice guys in such games for NBA scouts are guys that aren't good enough to make a EuroLeague rotation, and aren't good enough to make a rotation in secondary level European leagues like the EuroCup and the FIBA Basketball Champions League either.

They aren't good enough to make a rotation in any of the good national or regional leagues in Europe either. Not good enough for leagues like Australia, or for the limited American roster spots in China, or for the big FIBA Basketball Champions League Americas clubs that can pay a lot...

So looking good against such players really doesn't impress most international leagues. Kemba Walker joining Monaco two seasons ago, was the first time in about 10+ years that a EuroLeague team even took a chance on a washed up NBA player. As expected, the signing was a complete bust.

I can't even think of the last time that any decent team from any good European league signed a guy that has been out of the NBA so long as Oladipo, due to injuries

In terms of what international leagues might really take a look at him and could pay him a good amount of money - he's probably looking at China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Puerto Rico. Even in those leagues, he'd have to stay healthy and produce well, or he'd be done after a season, or even cut during the season.

He might be able to get a contract from a team in a secondary level European league like the EuroCup or the FIBA Basketball Champions League, or in a team from a good European national league that doesn't play in a European- wide league. So like low level teams from Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Adriatic, Russia, Israel, Lithuania, something like that.

But considering how long he hasn't played due to injuries, he'd be offered a very low amount of money by European standards, by any team that was willing to take a chance on him. They would probably also make it a month to month deal, and he would be cut really quickly if he couldn't stay healthy and have good production.

[tsherkin]

When is the last time one of these type of comebacks worked?

Jordan with Washington, I'd imagine, though that wasn't injury-prompted.

Derrick Rose had a pretty viable career after. He was a journeyman, he didn't play a lot of games, but he made it work for like a decade.

Shawn Livingston and Grant Hill

Grant Hill played 591 games after the injury he suffered as a Piston. It took him a while to get healthy, and then he had three-straight seasons of 80+ games (including an 82-game season) later on in his career. He was TWICE an All-Star after the injury, and was a very valuable roleplayer for the Suns. He even showed significant defensive improvement in his late 30s, and developed a 3ball in low volume (from the corner).

He's an awful example to match up with Oladipo; he's a good example of a SUCCESSFUL comeback. He just wasn't back at his full level of dominance. He had to shift gears and become something else.

[OrlandoMagic198]

In my opinion, if a player is retired, the NBA should not allow players to come back for any reason

[SkyBill40]

Jordan with Washington, I'd imagine, though that wasn't injury-prompted.

Derrick Rose had a pretty viable career after. He was a journeyman, he didn't play a lot of games, but he made it work for like a decade.

Shawn Livingston and Grant Hill

Grant Hill played 591 games after the injury he suffered as a Piston. It took him a while to get healthy, and then he had three-straight seasons of 80+ games (including an 82-game season) later on in his career. He was TWICE an All-Star after the injury, and was a very valuable roleplayer for the Suns. He even showed significant defensive improvement in his late 30s, and developed a 3ball in low volume (from the corner).

He's an awful example to match up with Oladipo; he's a good example of a SUCCESSFUL comeback. He just wasn't back at his full level of dominance. He had to shift gears and become something else.

Grant Hill was a great player for us and despite no longer having the lift or the speed, he contributed solidly. He was also universally liked both as a player and a person. He's a major part of the reason the Suns made a run to the WCF with Nash et al but fell just a bit short thanks to some late game heroics and lucky bounces for the Lakers.

[JujitsuFlip]

In my opinion, if a player is retired, the NBA should not allow players to come back for any reason

Why lol regular John Doe unretires and goes back to work all the time.

No one should be restricted in trying to earn a paycheck.

[JujitsuFlip]

https://cavaliersnation.com/2025/07/20/report-cavs-linked-to-victor-oladipo-who-once-had-a-massive-fan-in-dan-gilbert/

Allegedly the Cavs may be interested.

[meekrab]

Impressing people in a scrimmage against international pros is ... not that impressive when you're looking to get an NBA contract in an offseason with no cap space.