Kyrie Irving was chosen as an All-Star Game starter while Victor Oladipo was not. Yet and still, Oladipo is having a better season than Irving.
It can sometimes be hard to separate players. Kyrie Irving, a proven offensive superstar that has hit shots in the biggest moments, has cemented himself in the upper echelon of the NBA. Victor Oladipo is having an All-Star season, but even that label may not be enough to describe how well the first-year Pacer has played.
Unlike Irving, though, Oladipo has just burst onto the scene, leaving many dubious of whether this is actually for real.
Oladipo still needs to prove over the next few seasons that he is this good in order to earn the league-wide respect that Irving has.
For this season, however, Oladipo has been magnificent and has been comparable to Irving. And, breaking it down to each level of the game, Oladipo may actually be having the better season.
Scoring
Oladipo: 24.4 points per game, 48.4% field goal percentage, 38.1% three-point percentage, 81% free throw percentage
Irving: 24.7 points per game, 48.6% field goal percentage, 39.7% three-point percentage, 88.8% free throw percentage
In the first few months of the season, Oladipo was hot from three — shooting well above 40%. As the calendar flipped to 2018, Oladipo’s shooting cooled off and he has settled in at 38.1% from deep.
Oladipo has gone back to what he knows he’s good at: mid-range pull-ups and attacking the rim. He’s shooting 45% in the mid-range this season and 66% at the rim, per Cleaning The Glass.
Irving has been even more efficient, hitting nearly 40% from three, 47% from mid-range and 63% at the rim. He is shooting a career-high 56% effective field goal percentage this season, experiencing the benefits of the Brad Stevens offense.
Both Oladipo and Irving can kill you in any and every way, and they are so close as scorers that it may be impossible to determine who has the edge.
Passing
Oladipo: 4.1 assists per game, 19.6 assist percentage
Irving: 5 assists per game, 27.7 assist percentage
Irving is at the second lowest assist average of his career this season, while Oladipo is tied for his career-high. Still, Irving has the advantage.
It’s hard to talk about how good a passer someone is, so let’s just watch.
Rebounding
Oladipo: 5.3 rebounds per game
Irving: 3.6 rebounds per game
Rebounding has become more common for guards, as they will push the pace and run the full 94 feet in transition. Oladipo will often bring down a board and run the break; Indiana ranks seventh in the league in transition frequency.
Boston ranks 10 spots lower and perhaps that is because Irving isn’t cleaning the glass as much as Oladipo.
Defense
Oladipo: 2.1 steals per game, 2.7 steal percentage
Irving: 1.1 steals per game, 1.4 steal percentage
While Oladipo and Irving are neck-and-neck on offense, Oladipo has a massive edge on the defensive end.
Like passing, you only get some of the story from statistics. Perhaps the best way to showcase Oladipo’s defensive prowess is showing some clips of his matchup with Irving and Boston, where he finished with five steals.
The two battled it out in Boston that night, with Oladipo’s 35 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists bested Irving’s 21 points, 5 assits, and 2 rebounds. And more importantly,
.
Both Oladipo and Irving are having excellent seasons. Irving got the nod as a starting guard in the All-Star Game, which he certainly deserved.
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But Oladipo may have deserved it just a little bit more.