Victor Oladipo has taken his comeback plea public. In an open letter to NBA general managers published in the Players' Tribune, the 34-year-old asked for another opportunity to prove he can still help a team.
The timing matters because Oladipo is not speaking from a distance. He has not played in the NBA since April 2023, when he tore his left patellar tendon while with the Miami Heat, and he has been trying to convince front offices that the version of him they once knew is still there. In July, he held a private pro day workout for front office personnel during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, a test run meant to show that the body is finally where he wants it.
Oladipo made the pitch in plain language. He said he believes his body is finally right, that he still has GREAT and, more importantly, WINNING basketball in front of him, and that he can be a valuable contributor to an NBA locker room. What he wants, he wrote, is an opportunity to prove it. That is the whole question now: whether an NBA team decides the risk is worth the chance.
His case rests on more than a promise. Last season, Oladipo played 26 G League games with the Wisconsin Herd and averaged 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists, giving evaluators a recent sample after years of stops and starts. But the injuries remain part of the conversation. He ruptured the quadriceps tendon in his right knee in 2019, and since then he has not played more than 42 games in an NBA season. Those numbers explain why front offices are still weighing him carefully, even after the workout in Las Vegas.
Oladipo also framed the return as something his daughter Naomi can see. He said it is this version of himself right now that he wants Nomi to remember, adding that she is still so young and that he hopes the letter is something she can return to in hard times. He wants her to see strength, but also the kind of weakness that comes with a long recovery. That personal note gives the appeal a sharper edge: this is not just about getting back on a roster, but about being seen as he is today.
The numbers say he still has a case. In 10 NBA seasons, Oladipo averaged 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals. The unanswered part is whether any team will turn that résumé, the July workout and the G League production into a roster spot. Oladipo ended his note by saying he does not know how the journey ends, and that maybe a team out there will give him a chance, or maybe no team will. For now, that is the decision sitting with NBA front offices.
