Victor Oladipo Asks NBA General Managers for One More Shot
The two-time All-Star, out of the league since a 2023 knee injury, published an open letter saying his body is finally right.
The Letter
Victor Oladipo, a 34-year-old guard who has not played in the National Basketball Association since 2023, published an open letter to the league's general managers in The Players' Tribune on September 1, 2026.
In it he asks directly for a roster spot. "I believe my body is finally right," he wrote. "I believe I still have GREAT (and more importantly, WINNING) basketball in front of me. I believe I can be a valuable contributor to an NBA locker room. And what I'm asking for right now is an opportunity to prove it."
Bleacher Report notes that Oladipo said his main motivation is his four-year-old daughter Naomi, whom he calls Nomi. He wrote that he wants her to see the version of her father who "got kicked all the way down the mountain" and kept climbing.
The Injuries
Oladipo was the second overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, selected by the Orlando Magic, and became a two-time All-Star. In his letter he describes growing up in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, the son of Nigerian immigrant parents, with a father who worked three jobs and a mother who went to nursing school.
His career changed in 2019, when he ruptured the quadriceps above his right knee. Yahoo Sports reports he has not played more than 42 games in a season since.
He tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in April 2023 during a playoff game with the Miami Heat. Since then he has played overseas and in the G League, but no NBA team has added him to a main roster.
The Open Market
Oladipo held an open workout for NBA teams in Las Vegas in July. Bleacher Report says he later suggested he had received "some interest" from the Sacramento Kings after guard Russell Westbrook retired, adding that "the feeling is mutual." Whether that interest leads to a contract is not yet known.
He is not the only unsigned veteran. Yahoo Sports lists Kevin Love, 37, who spent last season largely as a mentor with the Utah Jazz, and Nicolas Batum, 37, who has indicated he would prefer to stay in the NBA rather than move overseas.
Also on that list is Bruce Brown, who shot a career-best 38.5 percent from three-point range last season but has not found a new team since returning to the Denver Nuggets. The 2026-27 season begins next month.
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