This is my city: Victor Oladipo is the Mayor of Indianapolis now

Victor Oladipo’s game-winner over the San Antonio Spurs gave the Indiana Pacers something from their star player they hadn’t had in recent years.

I always thought the whole “Paul George hasn’t hit a game-winner” thing was a fruitless debate. The shot only comes up when your team is down and even the best players in the NBA rarely shoot above 30% in that situation. The now-former franchise player of the Indiana Pacers didn’t have one, but the Pacers won more often than not when he played.

Of course, you want your star player to knock down those shots, particularly the ones where the team needs the shot to either tie or win the game in the final seconds. Last year George was putting away games before those closing moments, but after the whole debacle in the playoffs with him and C.J. Miles — and then forcing one up in Game 4 — it took on a new context.

But then came Victor Oladipo’s game-winner last night.

It was that shot: The make or break the game shot. The one Paul George never made. Victor Oladipo did in six games what PG didn’t do in seven seasons.

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

• 2 Studs, 1 dud from gut-wrenching Indiana Pacers loss to Charlotte Hornets
• Handing out early-season grades for Pacers’ Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin
• 3 positives, 2 negatives in Pacers In-Season Tournament win vs. Cavaliers
• 2 positives, 3 negatives from first week of Indiana Pacers basketball
• Should Isaiah Jackson’s days with Indiana Pacers be numbered?

There is a mythical feel about it, especially when it comes from one of the team’s stars. It didn’t matter if Thad Young and Glenn Robinson III had game-winners last year, it mattered that George’s streak is still alive when he left Indiana.

That’s why Oladipo’s shot set off a series of memes and jokes.  The Pacers needed that 3-pointer to win and Victor knocked it down with all the swagger in the world. “This is my city!” he yelled, something we heard from George after he knocked down a shot to ice a game, but not a game-winner, over Gordon Hayward.

Taking that phrase from Goerge and making a more stressful shot was the perfect way to silence the critics for now at least.

What Oladipo gave the Pacers matters because there simply is no question or reason to fear him taking the last second shot now, something that couldn’t be said of Paul George. Even if the whole argument comes down to what is the clutchiest of clutch shots, Oladipo now holds the advantage in the hearts of Pacers fans.

Oladipo was already loved as a former Indiana Hoosier, but now he was elevating himself above just being a hometown favorite.

Next: Pacers Rank: Who's on top?

This may be Myles Turner’s team, but Indianapolis is Victor Oladipo’s city now.