Indiana Pacers guard Victor Oladipo, right, passes the basketball defended by Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown during an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/R Brent Smith)
INDIANAPOLIS — Victor Oladipo got an early jump on the giving season.
The Indiana Pacers star has gifted the Kia car he won as the 2017-18 NBA Most Improved Player to a domestic violence survivor who works with the Julian Center, an Indianap
olis organization supporting domestic violence survivors.
Renita Hills was honored on the court during the Pacers’ game Sunday against Washington. Oladipo appeared in a taped message with the car and called Hills “an inspiration to so many people.” Pacers mascot Boomer then gave Hills the keys.
Oladipo won the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for December 2015 for his work that incudes giving $35,000 to a center that works with children dealing with hearing loss, along with donating a car and money to a single mother and her daughter to help them transition out of living in an Orlando women’s shelter.
When @VicOladipo won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, he was given a brand-new Kia.
Tonight, he surprised Renita Hills, a domestic violence survivor who now works with @juliancenter, with the keys to that car. 🎁🚗🔑 pic.twitter.com/uliTCUc8uy
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) December 23, 2018