Victor Oladipo out for season with torn patellar tendon

Victor Oladipo out for season with torn patellar tendon

The Miami Heat took a 2-1 series lead over the first-seeded Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, but the team lost veteran Victor Oladipo for the rest of the season. The 30-year-old shooting guard tore his left patellar tendon late in the fourth quarter after taking a hard fall on a drive to the basket.

Oladipo bounced around the league in the early part of his career but has been with Miami since 2020. One major theme of Oladipo’s career has been his inability to stay on the court. Of course, his Heat teammates were aware of this and grimaced when the guard went down as hard as he did.

The 2022-23 NBA season was the first time Oladipo had played in at least 40 games since 2017-18. Oladpio was productive in a different role than he’s used to this season, coming off the bench. He averaged 10.7 points, 3.5 assists, three rebounds and 1.4 steals this year. Miami used Oladipo off the bench in two out of three of their first-round matchups as well.

“Yes, there are injuries. That is a part of this game. We understand that,” Head coach Erik Spoelstra said to reporters Sunday. “But the human side of it, when you see somebody that’s overcome so much and he’s done it time and time and time again, and he always does it with an incredibly positive spirit and a smile on his face – even last night … that’s why I admire him so much.”

Oladipo is locked into a two-year, $18 million contract that he signed with the Heat last summer. He’ll be entering the second year of that deal, which includes a $9.5 million player option. Who knows if Oladipo will even play next season at all? Patellar Tendon tears are not a fast or easy recovery — it’s impossible to speculate, but an injury this late in the season is always hard to see.

This adds to the list of players on the shelves for the Heat, including Tyler Herro. Jimmy Butler also left Game 3, but should be good to go when Miami hosts the Bucks for Game 4 on Monday.

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