Victor Oladipo’s push to get back into the NBA just picked up another notable wrinkle, and this time Miami is at the center of it.
The former Indiana Pacers guard has spent the 2026 offseason making it clear he wants another shot in the league. Now, according to a report from Heat insider Ira Winderman, as shared by Legion Hoops, the Heat have been tracking his comeback effort and have "granted him clearance" to workout out their arena.
That doesn’t guarantee anything, but it does suggest Miami is at least willing to keep the door open.
Oladipo’s road back has been a long one. After emerging as one of the NBA’s fastest-rising stars, he helped make Indiana look like a legitimate Eastern Conference contender in the wake of the blockbuster Paul George trade. Then came the injury that changed everything: on January 23, 2019, in a game against the Toronto Raptors, he suffered a ruptured quadriceps tendon in his right leg.
He eventually got back on the floor for the Pacers in the 2020-21 season, appearing in nine games and averaging 20 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. After that, he was traded to the Houston Rockets and then traded against by the Rockets to the Miami Heat.
The injuries still weren’t done with him. While with Miami, Oladipo suffered a severe torn patellar tendon in his left knee during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks. He hasn’t played in an NBA game since.
If he can get back to full strength, Oladipo could be the kind of late-offseason swing a team takes without much hesitation. He’s not the same player he was at his peak, but he could still fill a useful role off the bench.
Across his NBA career, Oladipo has played in 504 games and made 397 starts. He owns averages of 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 43.6 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three.
For now, the best opening appears to be in Miami. Whether another team decides to take a chance on him this season remains to be seen, but the Heat’s interest keeps the comeback story alive. And for Pacers fans, even if the relationship never ended smoothly, there’s still plenty to remember from Oladipo’s time in Indiana.
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Pacers Never Got The Version Of Victor Oladipo This Core Needed
Indiana has spent years cycling through star guards and wings, and Victor Oladipo sits right in the middle of that conversation. Paul George gave the franchise a long runway as a two-way centerpiece, while Tyrese Haliburton has become the face of the current group as a gifted organizer and shot creator. Oladipo, though, arrived with the kind of burst and edge that can change a teams ceiling, only for injuries to interrupt the arc before the Pacers could really see what his best version might have looked like in their uniform.
The intrigue now is how naturally Oladipos skill set would have fit this roster. His ideal place always seemed to be as a complementary star, not someone carrying every possession, which is why a lineup built around Haliburton and Pascal Siakam makes the what-if even more interesting. Indiana never got the version of Oladipo this core needed, and even years later it is easy to wonder how different the Pacers last few seasons might have felt if his prime had lined up with the teams present-day spacing and playmaking. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Suddenly Have A Lot Riding On The Clippers Future
The NBAs punishment of the Clippers has changed the draft picture in a hurry, and the ripple effects reach teams that have been watching that franchises future assets for years. Los Angeles lost five first-round picks and was fined $30 million, leaving it with just three first-round selections to work with, including two from Toronto and one tied to the Ivica Zubac trade. For clubs trying to map out the next few drafts, that kind of reset can reshape both the market and the value of every remaining pick the Clippers control.
For the Pacers, the bigger question is what happens next if those limited assets become the centerpiece of future trade discussions. Summer league also kept Keaton Wagler in the conversation, and his performance added another layer to the broader roster outlook, but the draft side of this story now feels especially important. When a team like the Clippers loses so much of its draft capital, every remaining pick carries more weight, and Indiana has reason to keep a close eye on how that future unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburton Gives Pacers A Reason To Dream Bigger
Tyrese Haliburtons return gives Indiana a different kind of optimism as it heads toward next season. After missing the previous year with an Achilles tendon injury, the Pacers are expected to have him back in the lineup, and that alone changes the tone around a team that already had reason to believe in its core. Jay Huff was among those praising Haliburton, a reminder of how much respect he has earned inside the locker room after an outstanding 2024-25 season and a long-term extension that tied him to the franchise.
The Pacers are also preparing to open with a familiar-looking starting group that includes Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam and Ivica Zubac, which gives the team real continuity at a time when health and rhythm matter most. Haliburtons presence is the part everyone will watch, though, because his return is what can turn a solid roster into one with a much higher ceiling. For Indiana, the hope is not just getting him back, but getting back the version of the Pacers that made bigger dreams feel realistic. [Read more 🡒]