Victor Oladipo is not giving up on an NBA comeback: from an impressive workout in Las Vegas to a new public message to clubs
Victor Oladipo is still trying to open the door to the NBA, even though more than three years have passed since his last official game in the world’s strongest basketball league. The former two-time All-Star guard, who reached the peak of his career in an Indiana Pacers jersey, last appeared in the NBA playoffs in 2023 as a member of the Miami Heat, when he suffered a serious injury to his left knee in the series against the Milwaukee Bucks. According to an ESPN report from April 2023, the Heat confirmed at the time that it was a ruptured patellar tendon, an injury that immediately ended his season and significantly complicated the continuation of his career. As of July 11, 2026, it has not been officially confirmed that Oladipo has played in another NBA game, but the available data and his latest public messages show that the comeback attempt is not over yet.
The story of his new attempt began with a private workout in Las Vegas during the summer of 2025, when, according to a CBS Sports report citing ESPN’s information, representatives of several NBA and European clubs watched him. In that workout, Oladipo took part in five-on-five play against international professionals, and reports stated that scouts and club officials came away with a positive impression of his physical condition. The then 33-year-old guard publicly said that he felt good and believed he could help a team in a certain role. A year later, after appearances in the developmental G League and new messages directed at clubs, his situation is different: Oladipo is a 34-year-old, without a confirmed NBA contract, but with a clear intention to present himself as an experienced, low-risk option for teams looking for depth in the backcourt.
A public message without intermediaries
At the beginning of July 2026, Oladipo again attracted the attention of the basketball public with a message on the social network X, which was reported by BasketNews, Sporting News and other media outlets. In the post, he stated that he is a free agent, that he currently has no agent and that he makes decisions together with his family. In the same message, he emphasized that he believes he still has something to offer and that he would rather show his readiness on the court than prove his value with numbers and explanations. Such a direct public appearance is unusual for a player with his résumé, but it clearly reflects the position of a veteran who is no longer negotiating from the position of a star, but from the position of a candidate for one last chance.
According to reports published after his message, Oladipo is open to different possibilities and wants to carefully consider the next step. That does not mean that a return to the NBA is close, but that he is trying to remain visible at a time when clubs are filling out rosters for the new season and evaluating whom they want to invite to training camp. In that context, his most realistic path is not a multi-year guaranteed contract, but a camp invitation, a non-guaranteed contract or a veteran minimum if a team determines that he is physically stable enough. For clubs, the difference between the Oladipo of 2018 and the Oladipo he could be in 2026 is important: they are no longer looking for a first offensive option, but for a reliable player who can defend perimeter positions, provide secondary creation and be useful in the locker room.
Las Vegas showed that interest has not completely disappeared
The private workout in Las Vegas was important because it showed that Oladipo’s name still carries weight among scouts. According to reports from July 2025, the workout was watched by representatives of clubs from the NBA and Europe, and the impression of his readiness was better than might have been expected after such a long break. It was especially significant that this was not only individual shooting or controlled practice, but five-on-five play, because exactly those details help clubs assess how a player moves through contact, how he reacts on defense and whether he can withstand a competitive rhythm. In Oladipo’s case, every evaluation begins and ends with the question of health, so information about his explosiveness and movement carried more weight than his shooting performance itself.
That workout, however, did not immediately lead to an NBA contract. This is an important part of the story because it shows how cautious clubs are with players who have multiple serious injuries behind them. In his best years, Oladipo was one of the most dynamic guards in the league, but teams today have to assess how much of that athletic profile remains and whether he can use it without excessive risk. Even when a player looks good in a private workout, an NBA decision usually depends on the broader context: the state of the roster, the luxury tax, the number of guaranteed contracts, the need for a playmaker or shooting guard and the club’s willingness to sacrifice a roster spot for a veteran whose availability is uncertain.
The path through China and the G League
After the summer announcements, Oladipo appeared during the autumn of 2025 in the jersey of the Guangzhou Loong Lions, a Chinese team that played NBA preseason games in the United States of America. The official NBA box score from the game against the San Antonio Spurs on October 6, 2025, confirms that Guangzhou lost 119-88, and that appearance was part of a broader attempt for Oladipo to show that he could still play against strong competition. Media reports from that period emphasized that it was precisely in those games that he reminded observers of part of his old repertoire, especially through defensive activity and the ability to get into the paint. Although the preseason cannot be a direct substitute for the NBA regular season, for a player returning after years of knee problems every public competitive minute has value.
In November 2025, a return to the American developmental system followed. According to the official announcement by the NBA G League and the Wisconsin Herd, the Herd acquired Oladipo’s returning player rights from the Santa Cruz Warriors, along with a second-round pick in the 2026 G League Draft, in exchange for a first-round pick in 2027. That move did not mean an automatic path toward the Milwaukee Bucks, whose G League affiliate is Wisconsin, but it allowed Oladipo to present himself in a system that NBA clubs monitor every day. For a veteran with rich experience, the G League is not a classic developmental stage, but a showcase: a place where it is checked whether the body can withstand the rhythm of games and whether the player can accept a role different from the one he once had.
What the numbers from the developmental league say
Official NBA G League statistics for the 2025/26 season state that Oladipo played 11 games for Wisconsin, averaging 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 27.3 minutes per game. The same source lists a field-goal percentage of 40.8 percent and a three-point percentage of 31.6 percent, which are solid but not spectacular numbers for a player trying to convince NBA clubs that he can help immediately. They nevertheless have two important functions: they confirm that Oladipo returned to organized professional basketball and that he was able to take on significant minutes, while also showing that he cannot rely only on reputation. If he wants a new NBA opportunity, he will have to convince clubs that his defense, experience and decision-making ability are more valuable than uneven shooting efficiency.
The official NBA G League website in 2026 lists him as a guard for the Cleveland Charge, the developmental team connected with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while more recent media reports conveyed his claim that he is a free agent. Such a difference does not necessarily have to mean a contradiction, because statuses in the developmental league, returning player rights and actual availability for an NBA contract often overlap in a way that is not always clear to the general public. What matters for the NBA market is that, according to the available official NBA data, Oladipo has not recorded another appearance in the league since the spring of 2023. His G League minutes are therefore an argument that he has not disappeared from the basketball rhythm, but they are not proof that he will receive a spot among 15 players on an NBA roster without additional evaluation.
A career broken by injuries
Oladipo’s comeback attempt carries weight because this is not an anonymous veteran, but a player who at one point was among the league’s most respected two-way guards. According to the official announcement by the Indiana Pacers after the 2017/18 season, Oladipo then won the Most Improved Player award, was selected to the All-NBA Third Team and the All-Defensive First Team, and finished the season averaging 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and a league-leading 2.4 steals per game. He was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019, and in Indiana he became the face of the team after arriving from the Oklahoma City Thunder. His combination of explosiveness, aggressive on-ball defense and the ability to create his own shot made him one of the most exciting players in the Eastern Conference.
The problem is that the very athletic foundation on which he built his game was hit hardest by injuries. A severe injury to his right leg in January 2019, later surgical procedures and a new left knee injury in 2023 interrupted the continuity needed by players of his profile. According to ESPN’s career data, Oladipo has played 504 NBA regular-season games, averaging 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals. Those numbers explain why clubs still pay attention when he shows signs of physical recovery, but also why it is no longer enough to refer to his peak in Indiana. NBA teams in 2026 must assess the current body and the current role, not the memory of the best Oladipo.
What kind of role he could have on an NBA team
If Oladipo gets an opportunity, he most likely will not be envisioned as a starter or as a primary creator. A more realistic scenario would be a veteran role off the bench, limited minutes and assignments that can be adjusted depending on the game. In such a role, his value would not be measured only by points, but by his ability to guard guards and small wings, attack a weaker defensive player in the second unit and help younger players prepare for games. Teams entering the season with playoff ambitions often look for exactly such players on the edge of the roster, especially if they can sign them without long-term financial risk.
The risk remains obvious. Oladipo’s injury history is not a side note, but the central element of every club evaluation. The NBA season involves long travel, dense schedules and a physical intensity that is difficult to simulate in a private workout or in a shorter G League period. A club that would offer him an opportunity would probably first test him in camp, through medical examinations and controlled preseason minutes. For the player himself, that means he will have to accept a different status: proving himself day by day, without the certainty that he will reach the start of the regular season on the roster.
Why his case still attracts attention
Oladipo’s story attracts attention because it combines several themes that are increasingly important in the modern NBA: longevity after serious injuries, the value of veteran experience and the increasingly thin line between the NBA, the G League and the international market. Ten or so years ago, a player of his status might have more easily received a spot based on past achievements, but today’s league has a larger amount of data, stricter roster management and an ever-growing number of younger, cheaper options. That is why his path through Las Vegas, China and the G League is a good example of how a comeback is no longer built only on a name, but on a series of small proofs that the player is physically available and tactically adaptable.
For Oladipo, the most important thing is that his attempt is not yet over. According to the information available as of July 11, 2026, an NBA contract has not been officially confirmed, and teams have not publicly announced that they plan to bring him to training camp. Still, his message to clubs, appearances in the developmental league and the interest he previously generated at the workout in Las Vegas show that he is still actively looking for a way back. Whether that will come through a camp invitation, a short-term contract, a return to the G League or a new international option will depend on the assessment of his health, teams’ needs and his willingness to accept a role significantly smaller than the one he had in his best days. At this moment, the most precise thing to say is that Oladipo’s NBA comeback is an open possibility, but not a confirmed story.
Sources:
- CBS Sports – report on Victor Oladipo’s private workout in Las Vegas and interest from NBA and European clubs (link)
- ESPN – confirmation of the left patellar tendon injury in the 2023 playoffs and data on the circumstances of the injury (link)
- ESPN – overview of Victor Oladipo’s NBA career statistics (link)
- NBA G League – official statistics of Oladipo’s appearances in the 2025/26 season (link)
- NBA G League / Wisconsin Herd – official announcement on acquiring Oladipo’s rights from the Santa Cruz Warriors (link)
- NBA.com – official box score of the Guangzhou Loong Lions and San Antonio Spurs game on October 6, 2025 (link)
- Indiana Pacers / NBA.com – official announcement on Oladipo’s Most Improved Player award and the 2017/18 season (link)
- BasketNews – report on Oladipo’s public message to clubs in July 2026 and his free-agent status (link)