In the summer of 2023, the Los Angeles Lakers’ big free agent addition was guard Gabe Vincent, who was just coming off an NBA Finals run with the Miami Heat.
Unfortunately, Vincent was not able to give the Lakers much in the first of a three-year contract as he was limited to just 11 games due to a knee injury.
The 28-year-old was able to return for the final few regular season games and the playoffs, but he admitted that he wasn’t 100% until about a month into the summer.
“Probably like a month or so after the year ended,” Vincent said after practice on Thursday. “Obviously I was healthy enough to come back and compete, but I think it was clear to everybody that I wasn’t really myself even though I was able to impact in certain ways. It just wasn’t really what I was proud of producing and I don’t think it’s what this ballclub needed me to produce at the time. So definitely happy to be healthy coming into this season.”
As Vincent said, the good news is that he is now feeling 100% healthy and ready to contribute for the Lakers.
“Honestly, every year is important. So the preparation has been somewhat the same. Having extra time in the offseason to prepare my body, and obviously it’s great for the mind, so I’m ready to get out there and compete. I only played 11 games last year so I’m just eager to to get out there.”
Vincent projects to be the Lakers’ sixth man and a key part of their rotation off the bench this season. The hope is that he’ll be able to return to his Heat form and doesn’t look like the shell of his former self that closed the 2023-24 season.
JJ Redick wishes there were 10 Gabe Vincents on the Lakers roster
One person who is excited to have Gabe Vincent healthy and available this season is head coach JJ Redick.
“One of the things I just talked about with him is just having a really aggressive mentality. He is, and I knew this prior to him being back in the gym, I knew that he was super professional, Rob talked about that when I got the job. We have a lot of these guys, I feel very fortunate, but he’s like one of those guys where you’re like ‘Man I wish I had 10 Gabe Vincents.’
“He’s easy to coach, you know what he’s gonna be day-to-day consistency. So for the performance side in terms of on-court production and all that, I think the biggest thing for him is just having a really aggressive mentality. Don’t turn down shots, coming off an action your first shot is shoot a three. For him specifically I think just creating that level of freedom and clearmindedness is important.”
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