Gabriel Nnamdi Vincent (born June 14, 1996) is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Nigerian national basketball team.[1] He played college basketball for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. Undrafted out of college, Vincent signed with the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League before joining the Miami Heat on a two-way contract. With Miami, he reached the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023 before signing with the Lakers.

Gabe Vincent
Vincent in 2023
No. 7 – Los Angeles Lakers
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1996-06-14) June 14, 1996 (age 28)
Modesto, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Nigerian
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Mary's
(Stockton, California)
CollegeUC Santa Barbara (2014–2018)
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
Career history
2018–2020Stockton Kings
20202023Miami Heat
2020–2021Sioux Falls Skyforce
2023–presentLos Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life and education

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Vincent was born in Modesto, California, to Franklyn and Cynthia Vincent.[2] His father is Nigerian and his American mother is from Connecticut. They both earned doctorates in psychology.[3][4] The youngest of three brothers, Vincent attended St. Mary's High School in Stockton.[3]

Vincent played college basketball for University of California, Santa Barbara from 2014 to 2018, averaging 12.8 points in 113 games. After his senior season, he was named to the 2018 All-Big West Second Team.

Career

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Stockton Kings (2018–2020)

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After graduating, Vincent had a pre-draft workout with the Sacramento Kings.[5] Although he went undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, he signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Sacramento on October 2.[6] He was waived a few days later.[7] He played 24 games, with three starts, for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League during the 2018–19 season, averaging 8.8 points in 18.6 minutes per game.[8] He scored 35 points in a game twice for the Kings in December 2019.[9] Vincent played in 20 games (three starts) in his second season with Stockton while averaging 23.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.30 steals per game and shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from three-point range and 89.7 percent from the free throw line.[10]

Miami Heat (2020–2023)

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On January 8, 2020, the Miami Heat announced that they had signed Vincent to a two-way contract.[10] He made his NBA debut against the Orlando Magic on January 29.[11] In the G League, Vincent tallied 27 points, three assists and one rebound in a win over the Salt Lake City Stars on February 3.[12] He averaged 20.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 31 G League games. On June 22, 2020, the NBA G League announced that Vincent won the Most Improved Player award.[13] The Heat reached the 2020 NBA Finals, but lost in 6 games to the Los Angeles Lakers.

On August 1, 2021, Vincent joined the Heat for the NBA Summer League[14] and five days later, he signed a standard contract with the Heat.[15]

In Game 3 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, Vincent scored a playoff career-high of 29 points in a 128–102 win to give the Heat a 3–0 lead over the Boston Celtics.[16] The Heat eventually advanced to the NBA Finals after winning the series in seven games. In Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals, Vincent had a team-high 23 points in a 111–108 win over the Denver Nuggets to tie the series 1–1.[17] Vincent struggled to shoot from the 3 point line in the NBA Finals, shooting just 33% from beyond the arc.[citation needed] The Heat went on to lose the series in five games.

Los Angeles Lakers (2023–present)

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On July 6, 2023, Vincent signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.[18]

National team career

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Vincent represents the Nigerian national team, D'Tigers. On August 24, 2019, he scored 23 points against Poland, including the game-winning three-pointer with 0.3 seconds left.[19] He represented the Nigerian team at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.[20]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Miami 9 0 9.2 .216 .222 .6 .7 .6 .0 2.4
2020–21 Miami 50 7 13.1 .378 .309 .870 1.1 1.3 .4 .0 4.8
2021–22 Miami 68 27 23.4 .417 .368 .815 1.9 3.1 .9 .2 8.7
2022–23 Miami 68 34 25.9 .402 .334 .872 2.1 2.5 .9 .1 9.4
2023–24 L.A. Lakers 11 0 19.8 .306 .107 .500 .8 1.9 .8 .0 3.1
Career 206 68 20.9 .395 .332 .847 1.3 2.3 .8 .1 7.4

Play-in

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023 Miami 2 2 25.8 .250 .250 2.5 2.0 .0 .0 3.0
2024 L.A. Lakers 1 0 17.9 .500 .500 1.000 4.0 1.0 1.0 .0 9.0
Career 3 2 23.1 .357 .333 1.000 3.0 1.7 .3 .0 5.0

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020 Miami 1 0 .3 .0 .0 .0 .0 0.0
2021 Miami 3 0 4.7 .667 .500 .3 .7 .0 .0 1.7
2022 Miami 18 8 23.5 .382 .309 .950 1.9 3.2 .8 .3 8.0
2023 Miami 22 22 30.5 .402 .378 .882 1.4 3.5 .9 .2 12.7
2024 L.A. Lakers 5 0 13.8 .250 .143 1.6 .6 .4 .0 1.4
Career 49 30 24.6 .393 .347 .907 1.5 2.9 .7 .2 8.9

References

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  1. ^ "Aminu, Obekpa, Okoye arrive as D'Tigers open FIBA World Cup camp". The Guardian. July 11, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Gabe Vincent - 2017-18 - Men's Basketball". University of California, Santa Barbara. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "During Our Interview It Is Clear To See That Vincent Has An Intense Work Ethic, Is Very Grounded, Humble, And Is A Man of Strong Faith". Contemporary Approaches. February 11, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Beguiristain, Joe (May 25, 2021). "HEAT Proud Of Their Connection To Nigeria". Heat.com. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "Stockton product Gabe Vincent participates in Kings pre-draft workout". KXTV. May 21, 2018. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  6. ^ Klan, Mike (October 3, 2018). "Former Gaucho Gabe Vincent signs contract with Sacramento Kings". KEYT-TV. Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  7. ^ Ham, James (October 13, 2018). "Breaking down Kings' roster ahead of NBA's mandatory cut down day". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  8. ^ Schmidt, Dakota (August 25, 2019). "Look at Five Players With G League Experience To Keep An Eye On During The FIBA World Cup". SB Nation. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Local Roundup: Gabe Vincent scores 35 points again for G-Kings". The Record. December 21, 2019. Archived from the original on December 23, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "GABE VINCENT GETS TWO-WAY OPPORTUNITY WITH HEAT". NBA.com. January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  11. ^ Taheri, Hannah (January 29, 2020). "Stockton Native, Kings Alum Gabe Vincent Earns First NBA Action". NBA.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  12. ^ "Heat's Gabe Vincent: Superb offensive outing". CBS Sports. February 4, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  13. ^ Beguiristain, Joe (June 22, 2020). "Sioux Falls Skyforce's Gabe Vincent Named 2019-20 NBA G League Most Improved Player". nba.com. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  14. ^ "2021 Miami HEAT Summer League Roster". NBA.com. August 1, 2021. Retrieved September 11, 2021.
  15. ^ Herrera, Irene (August 6, 2021). "HEAT RE-SIGNS GABE VINCENT". NBA.com. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  16. ^ "Heat roll past Celtics 128-102, take 3-0 lead in Eastern Conference finals". ESPN.com. May 21, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  17. ^ "The Miami Heat roar back in Game 2 to tie the Denver Nuggets in NBA Finals". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 4, 2023. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  18. ^ "Los Angeles Lakers Sign Gabe Vincent". NBA.com. July 6, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  19. ^ "Nigeria defeats Poland in "Peak International Tournament"". eurohoops.net. August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  20. ^ "Nwora Releases D'tigers Final Roster For FIBA World Cup". Channels TV. August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
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