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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 26, 2017

Victor Oladipo

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Q. Looking back on this season, you've had a day to think about it now at least. How do you think you're going to remember this year? What's it going to be like for you?
VICTOR OLADIPO: Remember the good, remember the bad. I remember the ups, remember the downs. Learn from them and grow. It's going to be a big summer for me. Huge summer for me, and I'm looking forward to it.

Q. What is the goal of the summer? What do you have planned? What are you trying to accomplish?
VICTOR OLADIPO: I'm going to work and work, and I'm going to work some more. After that, I'm going to work some more after that. It's going to be a summer of work for me, so I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Most off-seasons are filled with work. Are you differently motivated this year?
VICTOR OLADIPO: A little bit more motivated, but I know I'll have to work this summer. I know what I need to work on. I know what I need to get better at. I know what to expect now. I played with these guys for a year. I know what my role is. So it's going to be a very relentless summer. A summer that I need to be focused. I need to get better at. I'm looking forward to it.

Q. Any difference playing in the Western Conference as opposed to the Eastern Conference all those seasons?
VICTOR OLADIPO: Yeah, yeah. It's different. The pace is faster, that's definitely for sure. But at the end of the day, it's the NBA. So you could say there are better teams in the West, but it's all tough teams in the East and the West. You've got to be ready to play no matter what, no matter what the situation may be.

It was good for me. It's just a little different, I guess you could say. Overall I'm glad to be here in the Western Conference. So I'm just going to keep getting better so I can reach my limit.

Q. You talked about working hard in the off-season. What are some specific things that you're going to target this off-season?
VICTOR OLADIPO: Just a few things in my game that I need to get better at. Go over the year, go over the film, get with the coaches, see where I need to improve. See where I need to get better at work on it.

Q. Have you had some summers before in your life in high school, college, do you remember anything special about those pivotal summers?
VICTOR OLADIPO: Yeah, there was one summer I remember very, very much, summer going into my last year in college before I got drafted. I remember the work I had to put in. It's going to be very similar to the work I have to put in now, so I'm looking forward to it.

Q. You talked about the motivation and getting the work in. Did the Playoffs heighten that? Did the playoff series, or was it there before the postseason started?
VICTOR OLADIPO: It was there. But the Playoffs made it even more relevant. Made it even more higher than it is now. I have high expectations for myself, so I don't feel like I've played well. I feel like I could have played a lot better.

When you go through things like that and you lose a series like that, a part of you feels like you almost let your teammates down. But I just use it as motivation, and I'm going to come back better.

Q. So when you say you thought you could play better, you're speaking specifically about the Playoffs?
VICTOR OLADIPO: Yeah, yeah, the postseason.

Q. You said you learned a lot, just the playoff was a different type of basketball, lot more rugged, physical. Is there something that you learned though that could help you the way you played in the regular season that next year will prepare you for the postseason? Is there something you'll take or play differently from that?
VICTOR OLADIPO: A few things. But just in general, I just need to grow as a player, grow as a person, and just attack the summer with the mentality of getting better. The mentality of coming back better, stronger, more experienced than ever before. So I'm looking forward to the summer. It's going to be a big one for me.

Q. This was an adjustment season for a lot of people in this building. But I mean, you were playing right beside Russell, and as he was adjusting and figuring things out, what did you learn about how you play beside him and just what that role looks like?
VICTOR OLADIPO: You know, I had to adjust too. You know what I mean? It was all new to me, playing with an All-Star, playing with an MVP, all new to me. Everybody here was new. Learning names, playing with everybody else as well, Steve-O, to Dre, to new guys, getting traded here from Taj, to Doug, so it's like your first year anywhere. It has ups and downs. You're still learning. You never really figure it out until later.

For the most part, playing with Russ was amazing. Being able to witness what he does firsthand. Being able to play off him. Never really figured it out over the course of like one or two games. It takes a while. So I think once we start getting used to each other and figured out where each other likes the ball and spots and everything, they started to get little passes, and little lobs and things like that. It's only going to continue to keep getting better.

So we're just going to keep going and keep getting better. I'm sure I'll see him this summer a few times, so I'm looking forward to that.

Q. Since you guys started playing together as kids, where have you seen Jeremy make the biggest strides in his game? Also, where do you think he still has some ceilings and some room to grow in terms of the type of player he can be?
VICTOR OLADIPO: Well, first off, his ceiling is extremely high. But it's funny, because me and Jeremy kind of have some of the stories in the fact that when we first started playing basketball, he really didn't dribble, really couldn't shoot. But we just played hard. We kind of stood out because of that, and our skills kind of came later. Jeremy has -- it's scary, man, honestly. To be perfectly honest with you. Because I saw him when he was, I don't know, 12, 13, 14, and his arms were about as big as his core right here. He couldn't even dunk yet. Now to see him where he's at now, it's unbelievable. He works hard. So that's even more scary because he's only going to get better.

So, yeah, I'm just honored and blessed, man, honestly, to be able to play with my brother and see him grow like he's grown and see where he can be and where he wants to go. Sky's the limit for Jeremy. I'm going to do all I can to make sure he gets to where he needs to be.

Q. He can play a lot of different positions, but looks like he may be trending towards power forward. Do you see that for him?
VICTOR OLADIPO: He can do a little bit of everything. So whatever we ask him to do, he's going to do it. Whatever his position ends up being, I'm sure he'll do it to the best of his ability.

Q. Playing with Jeremy and Russ, Andre, you guys are all so athletic and the game is so fast. For those of us who aren't out there on the court with you, what does that feel like?
VICTOR OLADIPO: Honestly, like a Tasmanian-Devil-type show feel to be honest with you. Just to see those guys. Those guys run just as fast as I do, move just as fast as I do. So it's just like, my goodness, it's just hard. When you see somebody run that fast or somebody go out for a steal on the break and he's running as fast as Dre or as fast as Russ or as fast as Jeremy, it makes you have to run as fast as them.

So I bet it looks crazy out there, honestly. I can only imagine how it looks. But from feeling playing out there, it's like a Tasmanian devil film. Just everybody crashing going all over the place. It's kind of fun.

Q. What do you have to do to convince Jeremy to participate in the dunk contest? You know him.
VICTOR OLADIPO: I've just got to do it with him. Honestly. I've got to do it with him. So we'll see how that goes.

Q. We discuss the more ball handling duties, we've discussed that a couple different times. What is the difficulty in not doing it so much in the regular season or not getting a lot of opportunity to do it in the regular season, then suddenly being thrust into that position in the postseason?
VICTOR OLADIPO: I mean, I'm guessing because I wasn't used to it, maybe at the time. But I just did all I could at the end of the day. So you could say a regular season experience could help. But, at the end of the day, I'm a basketball player, so I've got to go out there and figure it out as well. So I like handling the ball. I like making decisions, and I know I can. Now it's a matter of doing it on a consistent basis.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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