8 points, 9 seconds
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Victor Oladipo earns MVP in the NBA Africa Game 2017

By Ben Gibson

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 5: Victor Oladipo #5 of Team Africa goes for the rebound against DeMarcus Cousins #0 of Team World in the 2017 Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa at the Ticketpro Dome on August 5, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - AUGUST 5: Victor Oladipo #5 of Team Africa goes for the rebound against DeMarcus Cousins #0 of Team World in the 2017 Africa Game as part of the Basketball Without Borders Africa at the Ticketpro Dome on August 5, 2017 in Gauteng province of Johannesburg, South Africa. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Victor Oladipo led all scorers at halftime of the NBA Africa Game 2017 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Indiana Pacers fans should be pleased to see Victor Oladipo led the way for Team Africa as they faced Team World in Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday.

In the end, Team World held off Team Africa 108-97, but Oladipo was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points. He also had 9 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block, as well as four turnovers. The effort was good enough to earn him the game’s MVP award.

Obviously, it is only a few minutes of play in a glorified exhibition game, but we’re seeing Oladipo play more in the style he had with the Orlando Magic, not the passive spot-up shooter he was with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Oladipo shot 11 of 25 (44%) from the field and 4 of 14 (28.6%) from deep in the contest. He’ll need to shoot a little better if he plans on taking a more active role with the Pacers, but again, small sample size. It’s early August, so it is hard to get too excited or too down on anything that happens in Johannesburg.

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Indiana can hope, however, that some of the aggression Oladipo displayed in the game carries over to the NBA season. While there are few reasons why he would think about taking a backseat to anyone on his team this year, Kevin Pritchard must be expecting Victor to get back to his more assertive nature as a player.

Even if this team is now Myles Turner’s, Olapido is expected to be an initiator and a spark that can’t be provided from the frontcourt by Turner. If Oladipo gets his game going, it is only going to make life easier for Turner and the rest of the Pacers.

Aggression is a double-edged sword, however. It got the best of him late in the game as his forced 3-point attempt led to a blocking foul on the other end of the floor and a 3-point play for Kyle Lowry. It wasn’t a perfect outing for Oladipo, but there were signs that he will return to his more aggressive self now that he isn’t in the shadow of Russell Westbrook in OKC.

Next. A career year for Bojan Bogdanovic?. dark

We’re still three full months away from seeing NBA basketball again, but Victor Oladipo is giving the Indiana Pacers a few reasons to feel good as the season approaches.

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