Heat’s Victor Oladipo expected to undergo knee surgery this week, plans to continue NBA career

Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo is expected to undergo surgery this week to repair the torn patellar tendon in his left knee, according to league sources.

Oladipo, who turns 31 on May 4, is scheduled to travel to New York to have orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jonathan Glashow perform the surgery later this week. Glashow also performed the second surgery on Oladipo’s quadriceps tendon in his right knee in May 2021.

Oladipo is about to undergo his third major knee surgery in just more than four years, but the belief is he will be able to make a full recovery. Oladipo intends to continue his NBA playing career following this latest procedure.

While the timetable will become clearer after the surgery, the initial timeline offered to Oladipo by Glashow includes a six-month recovery process. With workouts and court work beginning soon after, he could be cleared to return to game action as soon as early in 2024 next season, if everything goes as planned.

A torn patellar tendon ended former Heat center Alonzo Mourning’s NBA career in 2007, but he sustained the injury during a season that he had already announced would be his last.

Others have returned from the injury to continue their NBA careers.

Heat assistant coach Caron Butler tore the patellar tendon in his knee in January 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. He missed the rest of the season before returning in time to be available for the start of the following season that began later than usual, 11 months later in December 2011, because of a lockout.

Damon Stoudamire tore the patellar tendon in his knee in late December 2005 as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. He missed the rest of the season before returning in time to be available for the start of the next season 10 months later on Nov. 1, 2006.

Glen Rice tore the patellar tendon in his knee in December 2001 as a member of the Houston Rockets. He missed the rest of the season but returned to game action early in the following season 11 months later in November 2002.

Oladipo sustained his injury late in the Heat’s Game 3 first-round playoff win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday at Kaseya Center.

Oladipo drove past Bucks forward Bobby Portis on his way to the basket and went to elevate, but his left leg gave way and he immediately grabbed at his left knee as he landed on the court with just 3:56 left in the game.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and several teammates rushed to his side while other teammates cursed and buried their faces in towels on the bench.

A stretcher was brought out, but Oladipo waved it off and hobbled to the locker room with the assistance of Heat coaches, trainers and teammates.

An MRI on Sunday confirmed Oladipo tore the patellar tendon in his left knee.

Oladipo’s series of significant knee problems began when he ruptured the quadriceps tendon in his right knee in January 2019 as a member of the Indiana Pacers and missed the remainder of that season. He returned a year later in January 2020.

After Oladipo was traded to the Heat in March 2021, he inured his right knee in his fourth game with Miami and underwent a second surgery to repair the quadriceps tendon in his right knee in May 2021. He returned 10 months later in March 2022.

This time, Oladipo injured his left knee. He missed the first 24 games of this regular season with left knee tendinosis, but avoided any knee problems for the remainder of the season until Saturday’s unfortunate incident.

Oladipo averaged 10.7 points and 3.5 assists in 42 games (two starts) this regular season, while shooting 39.7 percent from the field and 33 percent on threes.

Oladipo wasn’t in the Heat’s rotation at the end of the regular season, but he was pushed into a bigger role in the playoffs after guard Tyler Herro broke his right hand in Game 1 of Miami’s first-round series against Milwaukee.

Oladipo scored 15 points in 26 minutes in Game 2 and had eight points and two steals in 19 minutes in Game 3 before the injury.

Oladipo signed a two-year, $18.2 million deal with the Heat last July and will make $9.5 million next season if he exercises a player option by a late June deadline.

“I think of all these times behind the scenes when no one is watching,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Sunday before the team learned of the diagnosis. “I feel like I’ve had a front row seat at that on all these off days the last three years, on weekends when no one is here but he’s on the training table and then working his way to the weight room. It’s usually like a four or five-hour process and then finishing up with all the post-rehab work.

“This year and last year, he worked his way back to be healthy and back in it. But all those times where he was just rehabbing and not available to play, those can be very frustrating times. But you’d never see that on his face, he was always with a positive attitude and a smile.”

Oladipo’s road back from another knee surgery is expected to begin in the coming days.