INDIANAPOLIS – It took two months, more than a third of the season, before Paul George could pinpoint the identity of the 2016-17 Indiana Pacers.

“Our identity is inconsistency,” George bemoaned after seeing his team seesaw back below .500 for what felt like the 100th time that season.

Turns out, George had them pegged perfectly, as the Pacers straddled mediocrity the rest of the year, finishing two games above .500 before getting swept out of the playoffs in the first round.

It’s not unusual for a team with so many new faces — like both last year’s Pacers and this year’s iteration — to take time to develop an identity: good, bad or otherwise. Roles, relationships, chemistry, that all takes time to evolve.

That’s why it might seem hasty to pinpoint the identity of the remodeled Pacers after just a couple of practices. However, unlike last year, there is an unmistakable theme permeating throughout training camp, and Victor Oladipo, the man with the brick — “a chip ain’t big enough” — on his shoulder, is at its epicenter.

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After the first official practice of his Pacers career, Oladpio didn’t sound like a 25-year-old kid easing his way into new surroundings. The first-year Pacer spoke potently, with the commanding tone and tenor of a captain.

“Are you going to make a point of trying to be the point guy on defense?” a reporter asked Oladipo.

“I’m going to make a point of being the point guy for everything.” Oladipo replied with no hesitation.

After four years in the NBA — the last playing second fiddle in Oklahoma City to the most ball-dominant player in league history — Oladipo isn’t interested in playing the role of sidekick anymore.

The way Oladipo sees it, getting out from under Russell Westbrook's shadow was a blessing. The shackles are off. The NBA is a superstar-driven league, and in Indiana, unlike OKC, Oladipo now has the freedom to blossom into the NBA alpha male he knows he can be. And afterward, he’s going to thank all of those who thought he never would.

Think he’s still not a good enough shooter to average 20 points per game? You’ll see.

Think the Pacers didn’t get enough in return for George? Fuel to the fire.

Think he’s too nice to be a cutthroat finisher? To be the man? Just wait.

“Mr. Nice Guy’s gone,” Oladipo told a radio station in New York before expanding on the comment Tuesday. “Curtains. It’s over for that guy. Now I’m in attack mode all of the time. Not worried about anything else but competing and winning. That’s how it is.”

That’s how it is. And not just for Oladipo, who appears to be the front man of a team all singing the same tune — that one about being hellbent on proving pundits wrong.

Al Jefferson, 40 pounds lighter after a dud of a debut season with the Pacers, is out to prove he’s got something left in the tank. Glenn Robinson III said despite playing three times as many minutes as he ever had, shooting nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line and defending some of the best players in the NBA — there are still people who think he belongs in the G-League.

Upon learning ESPN had projected the Pacers to win a meager 32 games, Lance Stephenson couldn't help but smile.

“I love it,” said the Pacers' sixth man, who is well aware he too has plenty to prove with his most recent productive full-season coming way back in 2014. “I’ve been doubted all my life, and now my team is doubted. (We) can’t wait to come in with that tough energy and prove everybody wrong.”

Putting together a squad filled with us-against-the-world mentalities isn’t unheard of but it also wasn’t unintentional. Devoid of established superstar talent, this is exactly the type of roster Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard envisioned.

“What I like about this group — and we do a lot of psychological testing and we get to know these guys at a deep level — I think this team is going to fight back,” Pritchard said. “I think it’s going to have an internal toughness. They’re going to fight hard and I like that.

"When I come into a basketball game whether it’s Pacers or anything, I notice first of all, are they fighting? Are they really getting after it, competing, diving after loose balls. And I think we’ll do that.”

Passion and relentlessness, in other words, are what Pritchard hopes will become hallmarks of his unheralded roster. And maybe that's what will happen. Maybe Oladipo, Jefferson, Robinson, Stephenson and the rest will quickly bond over their shared desire to "shock the world."

Count Oladipo among those who believes that's precisely what's going to happen.

“Everybody in this building’s got something to prove,” Oladipo said. “And we’re looking forward to going out there and proving it.”

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Jim Ayello on Twitter and Instagram: @jimayello.