Being a successful professional athlete comes with as many challenges as rewards, and Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo is the latest example. Oladipo recently filed a lawsuit against his longtime business manager James B. Henderson, allegedly for defrauding him of $1.3 million.
Henderson is accused of allegedly investing $1.3 million of Oladipo’s money into a New York City strip club and a Florida condo. The June 16 petition was not reported by design, and it seeks to force Henderson, aka “Jay Belly,” to sit for a deposition to explain his actions. Oladipo wanted to keep it quiet.
Oladipo initially hired Henderson in 2017 to work on building out his investments. However, when Oladipo discovered that Henderson allegedly accessed his Merrill Lynch loan management account in 2020 without his permission helping himself to $330,000, which he put on a condo, Oladipo then fired him.
Betrayed
The betrayal was deep as Henderson allegedly forged multiple checks from Oladipo. Eventually, Oladipo hired a new business manager, and that person found additional unauthorized transactions, including investment into a New York strip club. The latest petition against Henderson comes after he reportedly didn’t attend a previous deposition scheduled last month.
Oladipo wants more than an explanation; he wants his money back. The 31-year-old Oladipo is seeking “no less than” $1,268,748, plus interest from Henderson and $355,070.16, plus interest from Henderson’s Belly Properties.”
Over the years, Oladipo has made bank with over $115 million in career NBA earnings and a $9.45 million player option for next season in his contract.
Before entering the NBA, Oladipo had an exceptional collegiate career at Indiana and went second overall to the Orlando Magic in the 2013 NBA draft. Oladipo has been in the NBA for ten seasons and five teams: the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, and now the Miami Heat. The two-time All-Star also earned the 2017-18 NBA Most Improved Player award.
Still Here
Although injuries have stifled his activity to 42 or fewer games in the past five seasons, his Heat team reached the NBA Finals.
According to reports, Oladipo currently has his Miami Beach, Florida, home listed for $9.995 million, a 6,500-square-foot home on Hibiscus Island, a gated community.
Surprisingly, Oladipo was credited as a significant support to Denver Nuggets star point guard Jamal Murray, who battled an injury after tearing his ACL in 2021, only for two years later, to be on a championship team.
After defeating the Miami Heat, an emotional Murray shouted out the ones who had his back on the road to recovery.
“Zach LaVine helped me out a lot with my confidence. Victor Oladipo was hurt back and forth, but he had such a positive mind set talking to me. Klay [Thompson] was brutally honest with me on how it was gonna be. I could see the hurt in his eyes when he talked to me.
“It was less about the words he was saying. I was looking at him and he wasn’t even making eye contact. He was just like, ‘This is just how it’s going to be.'”
The latter are Oladipo’s sentiments against his former manager and the petition: “This is just how it’s going to be.”
