Victor Oladipo held a funeral for his injured knee
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Oladipo's 32-point debut not enough for Houston in loss (2:10)
Victor Oladipo makes his Rockets debut against the Bulls leading the team with 32 points, but they would still fall 125-120. (2:10)
On the eve of his 2020-21 NBA preseason finale in December, Victor Oladipo participated in a funeral for his injured knee.
The service was held to say goodbye to an injury mindset, which was weighing on the two-time All-Star guard's pursuit of fully recovering from a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee that required surgery in 2019.
"I was feeling better, but my mind was so used to protecting me -- and being hesitant because of my leg -- that I had created a habit of doing that," Oladipo told ESPN. "And burying my injury and letting myself know that I'm healed, I'm stronger than ever before, it gave me the courage, the strength to actually go out there and perform and not think about the leg. Not defer as much.