Ladapo, born in Romford, England, scored close to a goal a game at youth level for Colchester United'sAcademy. On 1 March 2011, he was loaned to Conference South club Thurrock for work experience, and scored on his senior debut that day as a half-time substitute in a 3–1 home loss to Boreham Wood. On 30 March he was loaned to Chelmsford City of the same division. He signed a professional one-and-a-half-year contract with Colchester in March 2012, and at the start of the following season, he was loaned to Bishop's Stortford in the Conference North. Ladapo made his first appearance for Colchester in the 2012–13 season, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Gavin Massey in a 3–1 home defeat to Brentford on 26 December 2012. In June 2013, Ladapo signed a new one-year contract to keep him with Colchester for a further season, looking to add to his four first-team appearances he made during the 2012–13 season. He was then loaned out to Conference outfit Woking on 16 August 2013 for one month to bolster Garry Hill's strike-force. Ladapo was brought in to cover the suspended Giuseppe Solet. Featuring in the starting line-up against Chester on 17 August, Ladapo was replaced after 53 minutes by Joe McNerny who went on to score ten minutes later in the 2–0 victory. Having previously failed to score in his four appearances for Woking, Ladapo was sent out on loan to fellow Conference team Nuneaton Town on 1 November for one month. He made his debut the following day in a 2–2 draw with Hyde, and scored the opening goal. In his next match against Welling United on 16 November, Ladapo was brought on as an 86th-minute substitute and subsequently scored an injury-time goal to win the game 2–1.
On 24 January 2014, Ladapo joined Conference side Kidderminster Harriers on a free transfer from Colchester United. Ladapo was registered in time to face Premier League club Sunderland in the FA Cup fourth round the following day. He made his Harriers debut in the game as a 68th-minute substitute in front of a crowd of 25,081 as Kiddermister went down 1–0, Ladapo missing a late chance to level the game. On 11 March 2014, Ladapo joined Conference South club Hayes & Yeading United on an initial one-month loan, and four days later he scored the only goal of a home win against Concord Rangers, the West London club's first victory of the calendar year. His loan was extended on 10 April until the end of the season. On 30 July 2014, Ladapo joined Grays Athletic of the Isthmian League Premier Division on loan until January. Ladapo went on to make 26 appearances in the league, scoring 14 goals.
On 30 March 2016, Lapado joined Palace on a two-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee. While primarily used as a member of the development squad, in July 2016 he accompanied the first team on their North American tour and was named in the starting lineup for the first friendly match against Philadelphia Union. On 30 August 2016, Ladapo joined Oldham Athletic on loan until 2 January 2017. After his loan at Oldham expired, Ladapo joined fellow League One side Shrewsbury Town on a half-season loan deal on 5 January 2017. He made his debut for the club two days later, playing the entirety of a 1−1 draw away at Swindon Town, and scored the only goal of the match on his home debut against Bradford City a week later. He made his Palace debut in a 4–0 away defeat at Manchester United on 30 September 2017 as a 74th-minute substitute for Bakary Sako.
On 31 January 2018, Ladapo moved to League One side Southend United for an undisclosed fee. At the end of the 2017–18 season, having not scored in ten appearances, he was released by the club.
After being released by Southend, Ladapo signed for fellow league team Plymouth Argyle. He was Plymouth Argyle's top scorer in the 2018–19 season.
Rotherham United
On 25 June 2019, Ladapo signed a three-year contract with Rotherham United for what was a record transfer fee for the South Yorkshire club.
International career
Ladapo is eligible to represent either England or Nigeria at international level. In June 2011, Ladapo was invited to join a provisional training camp for the Nigeria under-20 team held at Bisham Abbey in preparation for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup. However, he failed to make the final 21-man squad.
