The Orlando Magic may not be a playoff team, but guard Victor Oladipo is making waves as he joins the top-4 leading scorers in the last ten games.
The 22-year-old shooting guard averaged 28.3 points in the last ten games, three more than four-time MVP LeBron James.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook led all scorers in the last ten games with 40.7 points. He’s followed by New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (33.5 points) and Houston Rockets guard James Harden (29.3 points).
The Nigerian-American Oladipo comes in fourth, while Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James comes fifth with 25.6 points per game.
Magic interim coach James Borrego explained what makes Oladipo such a tough player to come up against.
“He’s a competitive, tough kid.
“He’s got a lot of pride, and we need more of that from him. For this group to have success at a consistent level, he’s got to bring that every night. He’s one of those guys in the midst of chaos that can help us. He can settle the group. He can get us a big bucket.”
Since the All-Star break, Oladipo has emerged as a prolific scorer. He had a career-high 38 points against Phoenix on Wednesday. In that game he knocked down four of eight from beyond the arc.
He followed up with a 32-point, 10-assist performance during Friday night’s win over the Sacramento Kings. The second-year player knows one or two things to continue his scoring prowess.
“Teams keep going under on me. I’ve just got to shoot it with confidence,” he explained.
Magic power forward Channing Frye added: “We all challenge him to be as good as we think he can be.”
From the 2nd of March to the 8th Oladipo averaged 30.7 points per game, 4.7 rebounds, six assists, and 3.3 steals, leading the Magic to a 2-1 record. These stats might hint at a real rising star in the NBA.
