Do you like the show “Martin”? Victor Oladipo sure as hell does
By Ben Gibson
Victor Oladipo talked with The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears about his All-Star experience, Black Panther, and his love for the 90s sitcom Martin.
It’s been a special season for Victor Oladipo. After coming to the Indiana Pacers in a trade, he was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week three times, made his first All-Star Game, and took part in his second Dunk Contest.
With the Pacers in the playoff hunt and in the midst of their best season since 2014, Oladipo took time to sit down with The Undefeated’s Marc. J. Spears to talk about Black Panther (and his nod to the movie in the Dunk Contest), his music career, and everything else in his life the past few years.
While of those special moments are well and great, but what surprised me was his love for the 90s sitcom Martin.
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"Word on the street is you’re a huge fan of the television show Martin.Man, I got all the seasons from the first episode to the last episode and I’ve probably seen every episode probably about 10 times each or more. Probably more than that, actually. And every year, I just start from the beginning and just redo over again on the plane. Instead of just watching film, I just watch an episode of Martin.Have you met Martin Lawrence?No, I never have. I never have. I [wish] I had that opportunity.What’s your favorite episode and who’s your favorite character?I don’t know about my favorite episode, that’d be hard to say. Obviously, Martin’s hilarious. I think Sheneneh’s hilarious. Everybody has their moment of being funny. Tommy, Cole, Pam … everybody has their great moments, so I think that’s what makes it so funny and so special.I think it’s funny. It was like the first time where Martin’s playing different characters in one show. I think that’s pretty cool and dope. … He’s like one of the first few people to do that, and it’s just something that I’m attracted to and I like to watch all the time."
Damn, Victor.
While resident celebrity fan Mike Epps might be jealous of Oladipo’s comedy preferences, the other thing that stood out was what the now-franchise player’s pride in where he is from, both as first-generation Nigerian and as a former Indiana Hoosier.
Whether it was wearing the Black Panther mask (and knowing the cultural significance of the movie), talking about how special it is to play in Indiana, or getting the chance to go to Africa with his sister for the NBA Africa Game, you can tell how proud Oladipo is of where he is from.
Next: Nedosljedan: Bojan Bogdanovic's wild ride
The way this season is going for the Pacers, he should be proud of where he is going as well.