Gabe Vincent is entering his third season with the Los Angeles Lakers, on the final year of the three-year, $33 million contract he signed with the team in the summer of 2023. Vincent capitalized on his role with the Finals-bound Miami Heat, and hoped to be a major contributor on a contending Lakers team in the years to come.
That hasn’t yet come to fruition, for reasons outside of Vincent’s control. He missed nearly the entirety of the 2023-24 season due to a knee injury. Then, once he finally found a rhythm in purple and gold, the Lakers effectively punted on the 2024-25 season by trading for Luka Doncic in the shocking deadline deal. The Lakers played the rest of the season without a true starting center and an injured Doncic, and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Now, Vincent will get a real chance to contribute to a hopeful contender in the Lakers, just as he had hoped for two summers ago. And he is fully bought in on what the team is doing this season, even knowing the uncertainty that comes with unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2026, via Dan Woike of The Athletic:
“I’m all in on Laker basketball. I’m all in on this team,” Vincent told The Athletic on the eve of Tuesday’s season opener against the Golden State Warriors. “They’ll get everything I have to offer … I’ll be pouring everything into it because I’m trying to win.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has been as complimentary of Vincent as anyone during the point guard’s career. Redick has said he wants a team full of players like Vincent, given his attitude, hustle and skillset. And that’s part of why Vincent was named to the Opening Night starting lineup in replacement of LeBron James against the Golden State Warriors.
Vincent’s seventh NBA season could very easily be the most important of his career thus far. If he can be a legitimate contributor, and regular starter, for a team that goes on to make the playoffs in a tough Western Conference, it could unlock a big payday for the 29-year-old.
But for now, all of his focus is on the Lakers, and what he can do to help them contend this season.
Luka Doncic enjoys playing with Gabe Vincent
While Redick’s decision to start Gabe Vincent may be a controversial one given his lack of size, one person who enjoys playing with him is Doncic.
“As you can see, I always like playing with Gabe,” Doncic said after the Lakers’ preseason finale. “I mean, obviously his shooting is gonna help me a lot. We have that connection. He made four 3s out of five, so we he’s hot like that, we need to get him some more touches. But he brings a defensive intensity too so I think that’s gonna help us a lot.”
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