For Miami Heat fans, the best part of this year’s postseason so far has, of course, been all of the team’s wins.
Perhaps just behind that has been the resurgence of guard Victor Oladipo. Shortly after joining the Heat last season, Oladipo injured his quadriceps and elected to undergo surgery on the muscle for the second time in his career. Some questioned if he’d be able to come back from the injury for a second time.
After missing almost a year of basketball, Oladipo rejoined his Heat teammates late in the 2021-22 regular season. However, he was not getting lots of playing time, and there was a real question as to whether he would be in the team’s playoff lineups at all.
Now, that question has been answered, and after an impressive performance in the Heat’s Game 2 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, his spot in the rotation seems secure.
Heat legend Dwyane Wade is loving the comeback story. A pair of photos recently surfaced showing Oladipo and Wade over the years. One photo shows the two embracing back in 2016 when Wade was on the Heat during a playoff run. A more recent photo shows Oladipo on the Heat during this year’s playoffs.
Wade offered his thoughts.
6 years later 🔄 https://t.co/z4RGzvANcp
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) May 5, 2022
In Wednesday’s win over the Sixers, Oladipo racked up 19 points and six rebounds. He shot 54.5 percent from the field in the game and an astounding 75.0 percent from deep. He’s gone for double digits in the scoring column twice over the last three Heat playoff games.
It’s a truly inspiring thing to see Oladipo come alive in such an impressive way. While it is a fantastic personal story, Oladipo’s return could end up being part of a fantastic team story as well. After all, the way that he is playing for the Heat gives the team’s title hopes a nice boost.
The Heat have a commanding 2-0 lead in their series against the Sixers. The series will now move to Philadelphia, where the Heat will surely try to go for a sweep.
