Victor Oladipo After Loss to Cavs: Pacers 'Earned Our Respect from Everyone'

The Indiana Pacers may have lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 2018 NBA playoffs, but Pacers star Victor Oladipo said the team made a big impression in the postseason.

Following Indiana's Game 7 defeat Sunday, Oladipo told reporters he believes the Pacers have "earned our respect from everyone," per Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver:

Last summer, Indiana was coming off a 42-win season and a first-round postseason exit, and things looked bleak when the Pacers executed a trade that appeared so one-sided even Oklahoma City Police made jokes at the team's expense:

Instead, the Pacers' record improved by six wins, and they nearly knocked out the three-time defending conference champions. More importantly, Oladipo became an All-Star and the kind of singular figure around whom the franchise can build.

The 25-year-old guard is already looking ahead to the 2018-19 season, having texted his trainer to start his offseason workout plan right after Indiana's Game 7 loss Sunday, via Yahoo Sports' Michael Lee:

As good as the Pacers were this year, they may face a tough road in terms of climbing up the Eastern Conference.

The Boston Celtics will have Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back healthy next year. The Philadelphia 76ers have the most promising young group of stars in the NBA and will have the ability to sign a marquee free agent in the offseason. And depending on LeBron James' free-agency decision this summer, the East may still go through the Cavaliers.

But Oladipo's breakout and the collective strength of the Pacers give fans hope for the future, which is something that couldn't be said of the team even toward the end of Paul George's tenure.