Like the star he has become, Pacers guard Victor Oladipo made his grand re-entrance in front of a near-sellout crowd Wednesday night. He returned to the same floor where he was 12 months and six days removed from rupturing his right quad tendon, an injury that’s rarely seen in the NBA and by individuals under 40.
“This injury is not common, but who better to handle it than me, huh?” he said beaming at his postgame news conference. Ordinarily, he would be speaking in front of his locker after the game until the postseason. But nothing about this day was typical.
Oladipo, 27, had been thinking and visualizing this day for a while. Mentally, he’s in a better place and much stronger because of the injury. His mentality shifted when he began to think of it as a blessing, took inventory of his worth and attacked his rehab with the same kind of intensity as his early-morning workouts.
Right around Christmas, he began targeting Jan. 29 as his…
