One of the more unsung catalysts of the Los Angeles Lakers’ turnaround this season has been the return to form of Gabe Vincent. Injuries completely ruined his first season with the franchise and, while he struggled early this year, he completely turned it around in the second half with his 3-point shooting and defense.
But the playoffs are what the Lakers signed Vincent for as he has plenty of experience coming through on the biggest stages during his time with the Miami Heat when he was instrumental in their run to the NBA Finals in 2023. And now he is eager to get back on the court this postseason and deliver for this team.
“I’m just eager, I guess I would say,” Vincent said. “The playoffs are the best time of the year. It’s a long season, 82 games, and we’ve been kind of waiting and eager for these moments. So happy to be back.”
Last season, Vincent did recover in time for the playoffs, but after being out for so long he was unable to find a rhythm. Despite that however, he isn’t any more excited for this postseason than he would be any other.
“Not really. I love the playoffs,” Vincent added. “I’m grateful to be in them, any chance we get to play in the playoffs, I’m all about it.”
Part of why Vincent is just grateful about everything is his journey to get to this point. As an undrafted player out of UC Santa Barbara, few expected him to carve out the career he has and now he is just excited to have the opportunity to make a difference for these Lakers.
“For sure. Definitely grateful all the time,” Vincent added. “In the midst of it, it’s hard to remember where you started or where you’re at. But at times, you always sit down with friends and family and it reminds you of how far you’ve come. For me, I’m just grateful like I said to be playing in the playoffs. A lot of people don’t get to be in the playoffs, a lot of people don’t have deep runs in the playoffs. I’ve been fortunate to have both and to be in a position now to go play for a title and in games that have stakes, I’m just excited for that opportunity.”
In 22 games in March and April, Vincent shot 40% from 3-point range and has been a major factor in numerous big wins for this Lakers team. Now that the playoffs are here, he plans on carrying that momentum forward and helping this team make a long postseason run.
Austin Reaves: Lakers are locked in and ready for Timberwolves
The first step to the Lakers making a deep playoff run is defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round and Austin Reaves says the Lakers have to play extremely hard and not take any possessions for granted as they did a year ago.
“You just gotta play hard as shit,” Reaves said. “Every possession, you win by the smallest margins and you lose by the smallest margins in the playoffs, as we could tell from last year. Obviously it’s not the same team, but if you go back and watch last year’s games, one thing here and there could’ve changed the whole series and we would’ve had an opportunity to play in the second round.
“But we didn’t do those, so we gotta do that every single game. We can’t take possessions off. At the end of the day, we got a group of guys that are just ready to go to war. There’s a difference in being ready to go to war by yourself than being ready to go to war with your team. We’re locked in as a group and ready to go compete.”
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
