Oladipo: Pacers have 'earned our respect from everyone'

The Indiana Pacers have had their share of doubters over the past year.

To many, their decision to proactively trade Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis last summer was akin to waving the white flag, extracting some meager return on a rapidly depreciating investment as George was all but certainly leaving town as a free agent when able. Cue the full-scale rebuild.

Not so fast.

"If y'all don't respect the Indiana Pacers now, I have no respect for you," Oladipo told the media after the team lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of their first-round matchup.

"That's just how I feel," he continued. "Nobody thought we were going to be here - no one, not one person - but us in the locker room. I feel like we've earned our respect from everyone. Now, if you don't respect us, that's fine, that's your opinion, but I believe we've earned it."

After improving on last season's record by six wins (48-34), snagging the fifth seed in the surprisingly competitive Eastern Conference, and pushing the reigning conference finalists to seven games in a series they often dominated, it's fairly evident the Pacers' hairpin rebuild has been an unequivocal success, despite their first-round loss.

For their parts, Oladipo averaged 22.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, six assists, and 2.4 steals per game, while Sabonis averaged 12.4 points and 4.6 rebounds as a crucial reserve while shooting 58.1 percent from the field.

A year after one of the most tumultuous summers in recent franchise history, there's no denying that the Pacers' future is trending upward once more.