NBA Rumors: Victor Oladipo could miss the entire 2021-22 season due to quad injury

Victor Oladipo underwent season-ending surgery on his right quad last week and the latest NBA rumors suggest that he could be sidelined well beyond the 2020-21 campaign. Oladipo suffered this injury while playing for the Miami Heat against the LA Lakers on April 8th.

This is the second time that Victor Oladipo has undergone surgery to repair his right quadriceps tendon. He had torn the same muscle back in January 2019 while playing for the Indiana Pacers. It took Oladipo more than a year to return then and he could face a similar situation this time around.

As mentioned by Brian Windhorst on The Hoop Collective Podcast, Victor Oladipo could miss the entirety of the 2021-22 season.

"They haven’t announced it, but there’s a good chance Oladipo is going to miss all of next season," Windhorst said.

Victor Oladipo is a free agent this summer and the general expectation so far was that the Miami Heat would bring him back on a minimum deal. If Oladipo is indeed going to miss the next season, even that might be out of the picture.

For all the conspiracy theorists out there saying the Oladipo news should have come a month ago, you just got debunked by Spo.

In short, Oladipo was trying to find any avenue by which he could come back.

Eventually, he came to the realization that surgery was the only option.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) May 13, 2021

NBA Rumors: Victor Oladipo continues to be haunted by injuries

Victor Oladipo simply hasn't been the same player since suffering his original quad injury in 2019. Oladipo was playing at an All-Star level at the time and was in the running for second-straight All-Defensive honors. But that quad injury simply derailed his career.

Oladipo after suffering the quad injury in 2019

Victor Oladipo has only played a total of 52 games since returning and has looked like the shell of his former self. Oladipo never really regained full fitness and had to miss the second night of back-to-backs during the 2020-21 season. The latest injury he suffered didn't involve any gruesome incidents either. Oladipo finished a regulation dunk and immediately grabbed his right knee after a soft landing.

Victor Oladipo went to the locker room and was ruled out for the remainder of the game after this dunk.

Hope he's OK 🙏 pic.twitter.com/EpR86c8W9f
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 9, 2021

It's hard to make any predictions regarding Victor Oladipo's return date or how good he will be once he's fit again. He's set to lose out on a ton of money in free agency, though. What makes the situation worse is that Oladipo reportedly turned down extension offers from the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets this season that would've netted him roughly $25 million a year.

Also read: "I don’t think he wins it" - Damian Lillard rules Stephen Curry out of NBA MVP race