Victor Oladipo taking his talents beyond the basketball court by signing with WME
By Ben Gibson
Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo signed a representation deal with the William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC, better known simply as WME.
Victor Oladipo’s had a busy offseason after the Indiana Pacers were eliminated from the playoffs. Driving pace cars, showing up at the Stanley Cup Finals, and starring in a commercial during the NBA FInals.
He hasn’t released any new music this summer, but he might be dropping more later this summer.
Perhaps that’s why he signed with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC, better known simply as WME.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the deal is to represent Oladipo will cover his representation in all areas and seek to get him more opportunities outside of basketball. He joins an impressive list of clients represented by WME.
"WME will help Oladipo expand his opportunities in music, endorsements, content development and philanthropy. The agency’s sports roster also includes Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Kobe Bryant, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Novak Djokovic, Draymond Green, Wayne Gretzky, Cam Newton, Adam Rippon, Alex Rodriguez, Ronda Rousey, Maria Sharapova and Lindsey Vonn."
We’ve already heard Oladipo’s singing — and it is impressive — but hopefully, this leads to more opportunities for him within the music world.
When I first heard that Victor Oladipo was a singer, I assumed that was like how a number of NBA players are rappers — they’re passable, but you wouldn’t be interested if they didn’t play basketball so well.
Oladipo, however, can sing.
As far as basketball, this isn’t a bad thing at all for the Pacers. While New York and Los Angeles will always be the best place for a player to expand their celebrity and seek entertainment opportunities, Oladipo might show us how the size of the market you’re in isn’t as big of a factor as it used to be.
If you were told a year ago that Oladipo would be an All-NBA, All-Defensive Team, All-Star that was becoming one of the faces of the league, you rightly would have scoffed after looking at Oladipo’s resume.
Now, with representation from WME and high hopes for his second season with Pacers, the question now is just how big of a star he can be.