Why Victor Oladipo Might Never Play An NBA Game Again

The Miami Heat find themselves in an improbable position against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 2-1 lead entering Game 4, but one player who will not be appearing the rest of the way is Victor Oladipo.

With the Heat leading 112-88 and four minutes remaining in the game, the shifty guard was able to shake off Pat Connaughton's defense and drove hard to the rim for a wide-open layup.

As he planted his left foot, his knee buckled mid-air and sent him crashing hard to the floor.

Oladipo immediately grabbed his left knee in disbelief and muttered "no" as he knew that something was wrong, with team doctors helping him up and walking him back to the locker room as the Heat's home crowd chanted his name in support.

Sports medicine doctor Brian Sutterer did a breakdown of Oladipo's injury based on the mechanics of the step that caused the injury and other factors such as his injury history and how the kneepads he was wearing shifted at the time of the tear.

Taking it all into consideration, he came to the conclusion that it was highly likely that it truly was a torn patella tendon.

His guess would turn out to be correct as Shams Charania of The Athletic revealed that he did suffer a torn patellar tendon in his left knee and will be out for the rest of the season.

A quick search online would say that a torn patella tendon is that much more devastating compared to an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear since the former "causes a person to be unable to bear weight or extend the knee" while a torn ACL allows most people to "stand and walk without many issues."

Oladipo's once-promising career has been derailed by injuries owing to his athletic style of play, with him a long history of knee, ankle and back issues dating back to at least the 2017-18 NBA season.

However, the most devastating one that arguably changed the direction of his career is suffering a ruptured quad tendon in the right knee against the Toronto Raptors in the 2018-19 season as a member of the Indiana Pacers.

He had it repaired in January 2019 before going on to have another season-ending surgery to repair it in 2021, now as a member of the Miami Heat.

When he entered the league Oladipo was one of the game's most promising two guards thanks to his otherworldly athleticism and shiftiness that allowed him to slice through defenses with ease and was rewarded with two NBA Dunk Contest appearances in 2015 and 2018.

Those days seem so far gone now for the 2013 second-overall pick as the Silver Spring, Maryland native battles his way through another devastating knee injury

With his laundry list of injuries and a torn patellar tendon at age 30 though, April 22, 2023 may have been the last time fans have seen the former Indiana Hoosier play in an NBA game barring a miracle of epic proportions.