Victor Oladipo becomes biggest star to sit out NBA bubble in Orlando

Victor Oladipo has decided to sit out the NBA’s restart bubble in Orlando.

The Indiana Pacers will be joining the NBA‘s restart in Orlando without the face of their franchise on the court.

According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, Victor Oladipo has made the decision to skip playing in the league’s bubble for the 2020 NBA Playoffs at Walt Disney Resort, instead choosing to prioritize his own health in order to return fully healthy in 2020-21. He will be joining the team in Orlando, but will not be suiting up.

“I really want to play, as a competitor and teammate this is tearing me apart,” he told Charania. “But I truly believe continuing on the course I’m on and getting fully healthy for the 2020-21 season is the right decision for me.”

Oladipo also mentioned that he’s in a great place with his rehab and feels like he’s getting closer to 100 percent, but that between the uncertainties of the bubble, trying to work himself back into 5-on-5 scenarios and the risk of soft-tissue injury, he’s not comfortable with playing in Orlando.

What does Victor Oladipo’s absence mean for him and the Pacers?

The Pacers star has been dealing with a ruptured quad tendon from January of 2019, eventually working his way back onto the court this season. He didn’t often look like himself in his 13 games for Indiana this year, however, averaging just 13.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on ugly .391/.304/.780 shooting splits.

This noticeable dip came a season after Oladipo earned his second All-Star selection, averaging 18.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists a night before the quad injury ended his season.

This is a blow to the Pacers’ morale, but they were fairly competitive without him this season. While it seems like a death sentence to lose the team’s biggest star, Domantas Sabonis has been Indiana’s best player this season, earning his first All-Star selection in the process.

The Pacers, who sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 39-26 record, only went 7-6 with Oladipo in the lineup. Without him, guys like Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner and T.J. Warren powered Indiana to a 32-20 mark. They’re not better without him when he’s at full strength, but working Oladipo back into the rotation and shaking off the rust had been an arduous process.

It’s unfortunate these games in the NBA bubble will be missing a star of Oladipo’s caliber, but this is a smart and safe decision for the 28-year-old who’s still clearly on the mend and at greater risk of re-injury after sitting out another four months during this hiatus. With only one year and $21 million remaining on his contract after this season, this is probably the right call.