One month before the Pacers gather in Indianapolis for training camp, Victor Oladipo welcomed his teammates down to sunny Miami for a week of work, a week of growth, and mostly, a week of togetherness.

Fifteen players attended this players-only mini-camp, including Edmond Sumner and C.J. Wilcox, both of whom are on two-way deals. Starter Bojan Bogdanovic was the only player absent. Bogdanovic is playing for the Croatian National Team and the FIBA European Qualifiers resume in mid-September.

They reunited in Miami focused on building off last season — when they set the foundation and culture for future success — before the grind of an NBA season begins on Sept. 24 with media day. Training camp then opens the following day. The Pacers will play four preseason games (all on the road) and then tip-off a new season on Oct. 17 against Memphis.

Oladipo, who calls Miami home in the offseason, works out Monday through Friday. He typically goes from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. — getting focused work completed with his sports performance trainer (David Alexander), physical therapist, and then two basketball trainers at a local gym he partially owns, dubbed the Victor Oladipo Skills Lab. That, however, is just a private, halfcourt setting not suitable to host an entire team.

So the players spent the week at the JW Marriot Marquis, a five-star hotel featuring a fitness center, outdoor pool and whirlpool, plus an NBA-approved basketball gym. Each day, they spent at least two hours on the basketball court. The first hour was dedicated to individual skill enhancement, and then they would scrimmage.

After the 2016-17 season, Oladipo solidified his team behind the scenes. Among that group are basketball trainers Micah Lancaster of I’m Possible Training and Al Watson of AGAME Training. Lancaster, who started working with Oladipo last May, zeroes in on more than 600 micro skills and tries to draw weaknesses out. Watson, meanwhile, focuses more on game situations and how the Pacers utilize Oladipo within the offense.

Pacers officials visited Miami earlier this summer and observed the workouts Oladipo was being put through on daily basis.

“He really wanted to bring his team into the same type of training that he’s been doing,” Lancaster told The Athletic. “So he organized it, he made sure that we were good to go that week, and then I also brought in top trainers in our organization to join us.”

It was actually Oladipo’s goal to get everyone together last offseason, just one month after being acquired by the Pacers. However, scheduling conflicts after sweeping roster changes — eleven new players in all — prevented it from happening. (Oladipo played in the NBA Africa game last offseason and was named Most Valuable Player after he finished with a game-high 28 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.)

So instead, much of the team was in town by September. In addition to on-court workouts, they did little things together, like run the Indiana War Memorial steps and attend a concert by R&B/pop star The Weeknd.

He was not voted captain last season — Thad Young and Myles Turner were co-captains — but Oladipo has happily taken on additional responsibilities, such as this team mini-camp, as he rises up the NBA ranks.

“He sees this as a necessary step to start the season and get everyone’s focus in the right direction, and he feels like that was accomplished.” Lancaster said of Oladipo.

Several teams have had its players agree to gather in a warm location before training camp, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, Oladipo’s previous team. The Houston Rockets players soon plan to spend time bonding in the Bahamas.

The Pacers wildly exceeded all expectations last season on the way to 48 wins, six more than the previous season, and pushed the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the playoffs. Despite the first-round exit, the players believe in one another … and remain on a mission, especially with James finally exiting the conference.

“My teammates have been nothing short of amazing,” Oladipo said on June 27, at a press conference to celebrate being named the NBA’s Most Improved Player. “It’s been an honor to be able to call them my teammates and my brothers as well.”

Lancaster shared some of his observations after watching a motivated Pacers group for the last week.

“Myles Turner was exceptional. I think his upside is huge,” he said. “We’ve also worked with Karl-Anthony Towns since he was an eighth grader and I see a lot of similarities in those two [from a skills standpoint]. I’m personally pretty excited about him. I think he hasn’t even scratched the surface and he showed it in workouts.

“[Domantas] Sabonis has a really nice feel. He was impressive. Tyreke Evans is exceptionally skilled. As a team, the excitement behind the workouts was pretty impressive to see.”

The mini-camp extended beyond basketball. They shared meals together and had fun outings out — like Wednesday night at Topgolf. Oladipo also brought in Eric Thomas, a public speaker, educator, and pastor, to inspire the players to take that next step as a group. He preaches the message, “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you‘ll be successful.”

This mini-camp in Miami was not a team mandatory event. The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement doesn’t allow for it to be one.

That said, it’s impressive that nearly everyone attended. Pacers coaches weren’t there, but several support staff members were: recently hired assistant athletic trainer/physical therapist Patrick Gilbert, Andy Martin (assistant sports performance coach), David McClure (player development coach), plus Tim Dather, Ben Eblen, and Jared Bartling from the video room.

“It’s a special group,” Lancaster reiterated. “The energy was great, the camaraderie was great. I think this is going to be a special season [for them].”

(Top photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)