During the 2020-21 preseason, then-Indiana Pacers star Victor Oladipo held a “funeral” for his injured leg to move past the psychological impact of the brutal injury, according to ESPN’s Eric Woodyard.
Oladipo was an All-Star in 2018 and 2019, but he suffered a ruptured quadriceps tendon in the second half of the 2019 season and was forced to have surgery. The recovery cost him most of the next season, as well. But he’s now healthy in 2020-21, and his mental state is also improved.
Per Woodyard, the funeral ceremony happened via a Zoom call with motivational speaker, educator, and Pastor Eric Thomas, as well as Mostafa Ghonim, Thomas’ business development and managing partner.
In his story, Woodyard elaborates:
With the help of Thomas and his team, whom Oladipo hired as his sports psychologists at the start of the 2020-21 season, Oladipo wrote a letter titled, “Saying Goodbye” before listening to a prayer from Thomas. Then, he went outside his Indiana home and burned the piece of paper, ready to put the injury behind him.
“Today, I am burying everything related to my torn quad. I am burying and letting go of everything. I’m letting go of tearing my quad and the injury that happened. I’m letting go of being one of three people to ever get the injury,” Oladipo wrote in his letter. “I’m letting go of all the negativity surrounding the fact that I’m one of three people and the youngest to get it. I am letting go of ‘My knee might not be strong enough to do everything I want on the basketball court.’ I’m letting go of hoping that my knee is strong enough so I can be an All-Star.”
STORY: Victor Oladipo held a funeral for his injured knee. The Rockets guard wrote a letter titled "Saying Goodbye" to move forward from the ruptured quad he suffered in 2019.
'I'm letting go of all the negativity'
Here’s how @Ericthomasbtc has helped.https://t.co/R0vdraL7nT
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) January 26, 2021
Per Woodyard, Oladipo also credits therapy sessions with Thomas for helping him work through his recent trade from Indiana to the Houston Rockets. “They walked me through it,” Oladipo told ESPN. “At the end of the day, everything happens for a reason, and you’ve just got to embrace change. At the end of the day, I didn’t know I was getting traded. I had no inclination. I had no warning, I had no clue.”
In his first three games in Houston, Oladipo is averaging 22.3 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 33.0 minutes per game.
Oladipo and the Rockets will return to action on Tuesday night when Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards visit Toyota Center.
