Victor Oladipo feels right at home in Indiana.

Here Dennis Smith Jersey , he evolved from a high-flying, college acrobat for the Hoosiers into a legitimate NBA draft prospect. Here, he won over the hearts and minds of a basketball-crazed state. And here, he finally got a chance to tap into his full potential.

Now, five years after being taken No. 2 overall in the draft, the multi-talented guard has returned to his adopted home state, revived a rebuilding Pacers franchise and heads into the playoffs as the favorite to be the league’s Most Improved Player.

”To come out and get 48 wins after everything that happened is a great accomplishment,” Oladipo said after sitting out Tuesday’s 119-93 loss to Charlotte with a sore right foot. ”But there’s a lot more to accomplish and a lot more goals we want to accomplish starting this weekend.”

The only surprise bigger than the Pacers’ remarkable resurgence this season might be Oladipo’s transformation from a potential future star into an NBA All-Star.

Orlando saw the possibilities when it drafted the junior back in 2013 but wound up trading him to Oklahoma City in July 2016. With the Thunder, Oladipo served a one-year apprenticeship with eventual MVP Russell Westbrook – a year Oladipo credits with helping him emerge as the budding star he has become.

But when the Thunder got a chance to pair Westbrook with four-time All-Star Paul George of Indiana, they put Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis on the trading block. Things could not have worked out better for the players – or the Pacers.

Oladipo and Sabonis each played key roles in helping the Pacers shed the preseason projection of NBA lottery team, and Oladipo has finally found a place where he can be himself.

”I know it kind of came out of nowhere (for fans), especially after the trade. People were kind of down on Vic last year for some odd reason,” said Kevin Durant, the Golden State star who grew up in the same Maryland county as Oladipo. ”To see the trade and how people viewed that trade, and then he just turned it up throughout the season. For me KeiVarae Russell Jersey , I thought it was expected of him. I’m very excited for Vic and happy for him and I know he’s going to keep getting better as a player.”

Returning to Indiana certainly helped. Hoosiers fans revered Oladipo because of how he played the game. They embraced the passion and heart he showed on the court, the effort he made on defense and believed he spoke a language any true basketball fan respects. Time hasn’t changed that part of Oladipo’s game.

”He is himself every day, and then he’s just very positive all the time,” Myles Turner said. ”Even when things aren’t going well, he’s still talking, still getting guys involved, still hyping everybody else up.”

After spending four years looking for the right fit, Oladipo found it in Indy:

His scoring total increased by nearly 30 percent over his previous career best and 45 percent over last season. His averages of 23.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 are all career highs. His average of 2.36 steals is the highest single season average of anyone in the NBA since 2013-14 and his 77 steals were 18 ahead of George, who is second, heading into the final night of the regular season.

Even opposing coaches and players acknowledge Oladipo’s breakout season should make the fifth Indiana player to earn the most improved award since 2000.

”Oh, definitely,” Lance Stephenson said, almost scoffing at the question. ”In my eyes, he’s the MVP. He’s played terrific.”

Oladipo knows there’s still plenty more to do and his blazing speed and charismatic charm make the possibilities seem endless for the 25-year-old.

The next chapter begins in the playoffs. In his previous four seasons Ethan Westbrooks Jersey , Oladipo has won only one postseason game and he doesn’t want this season’s magical ride to end before he can celebrate winning his first playoff series with his teammates.

And the message he sent Tuesday night resounded throughout the state.

”We’re going to go in there and win,” he said. ”We’re not going to go in there and try to win. We’re going to go in there and win.”

—

Sean Lee responded with strong words to criticism from former teammate Dez Bryant.

Tyrone Crawford felt compelled to tell the team these Dallas Cowboys won't be in the business of dramas such as Bryant's Twitter-fed rant early in training camp over who he felt was responsible for his offseason release.

With tight end Jason Witten's sudden retirement after 15 years for a TV job, the Cowboys can't defer to the franchise leader in games, starts and catches on any number of topics. Crawford, a defensive lineman, doesn't think they can replace the 2012 NFL Man of the Year either.

"If you're being real with yourself, Jason Witten's one of the best ever to do it," Crawford said. "And if you knew him as a man, one of the best men you'll ever get to meet. To me, there's never going to be another Jason Witten that's going to be around me."

Still, the Cowboys have to figure out life without Witten's leadership. Ask around, the answers will vary.

Quarterback Dak Prescott is a natural choice, both through leadership skills he demonstrated before replacing Tony Romo and the fact that the 25-year-old is already going into this third season as the starter.

Lee, now Dallas' only offensive or defensive player in his 30s (he's 31), always used to wait until the end of the week to address reporters in the locker room during the season. There's talk of him moving that up to be more visible Calvin Johnson Jersey , and the 2016 All-Pro has left no doubt he knows things are different without Witten.

Center Travis Frederick and Zack Martin, who just signed a contract making him the highest-paid guard in the NFL, come up as well. But Frederick stops short of the idea of leadership by committee.

"Committee makes it sound like it's a huge group of guys," said Frederick, who started all 80 games in his first five seasons. "Traditionally in a team like this, you have a group of captains that are a strong group of leaders, maybe five, six guys. I think you're going to find that here.

"But there's been a lot of guys in training. I think that Dak is one of the guys that's most naturally a leader that I've ever been around in my life."

Bryant shockingly called Lee a "snake" on Twitter while suggesting the ninth-year linebacker had a hand in the club's decision to move on from its career leader in touchdown receptions.

Equally shocking was Lee's response, acknowledging that he and Bryant had been at odds over Lee's feeling that Bryant wasn't always accountable. Lee even suggested Bryant still wasn't holding himself accountable. It was the first time Lee had been forced to defend himself on such terms, and he left no doubt how he felt.

"I've been in a leadership role for a long time now and I need to take it to that next level," Lee said. "But there's also, we have a core group of guys. We have a lot of guys where it's easy to be a leader on this football team because of how many great leaders we have, all the way through, from the top to bottom."

Crawford, a seventh-year player who has been growing into a leadership role over several seasons Tyler Ervin Jersey , wasn't happy that the team found itself in the middle of an unexpected tiff.

"When it comes to things like that and getting focused, I get angry and I say what I want to say and that's what it is," Crawford said. "I feel like I need to say the right things at the right time and I do and that's it."

When Prescott became the starter because of a preseason back injury sustained by Romo two years ago, he spent half that season repeating that it was Romo's team. Somewhere in the middle of an 11-game winning streak, though, the conversation changed. The qualities to lead were already there.

"It's just about finding new ways to lead and it's going to continue to evolve each and every year 鈥?every year that I get more experience and I get older," Prescott said. "New ways I can come in contact with my teammates, motivate them or do whatever I have to do to get the best out of them."

Asked specifically about what Witten's departure meant for Lee's leadership role, coach Jason Garrett almost cut off the question.

"Witt was the guy who was out in front, the most veteran guy, incredibly well-respected guy," Garrett said. "But all these guys have been grasping that mantle for a long time. There's no one guy that can lead as a player. It just doesn't happen that way. You have to have it throughout your team."

The Cowboys had some tangible proof during the first week of training camp.

NOTES: Dallas placed rookie WR Cedrick Wilson, a sixth-round pick, on injured reserve with a shoulder injury and signed rookie Ricky Jeune out of Georgia Tech.

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