Quincy Olivari had his viral NBA pre-season moment after meeting his childhood idol Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors as part of the Los Angeles Lakers.
He had his first real NBA action at last on Sunday as he was inserted into the line-up to face the Portland Trailblazers with all the injuries the Lakers are dealing with.
The latest to go down for the struggling Lakers are Lebron James and Austin Reaves.
Olivari saw limited minutes but made a good account of himself as a spacer, going one out of three from the three-point line.
When asked how how he feels about his first NBA points, he has this to say:
“I hope it’s 3 points of 50,000… I like to dream big. I’m just happy we got it in a win.”
He was asked to describe the moment of hitting his his first ever shot and he recalled the things he went through to get to this point.
“A lot of prayer, a lo of preparations, a lot of perseverance. It meant a lot especially with my dad here. Just you know, he was the first person to take me into an NBA game. Philipps Arena. Sit up in a 360 section. To have him and hit a three. It mean a lot. It was a great feeling. I’m glad we won.”
Olivari went undrafted in the 2024 draft but was still able to earn a 10-day contract with the Lakers in June.
From there, he was able to build on the opportunities given to him, including his 11-point game in LA’s comeback win against the Milwaukee Bucks during the pre-season.
Quincy Olivari talks about injury
The 6’3 guard never wastes chances but injuries hamper his plan.
He is playing for both the South Bay Lakers in G-League and the Lakeshow and for the former, he already missed games.
The latest one is because of an ankle injury.
“I hope it’s 3 points of 50,000… I like to dream big”
Quincy Olivari spoke about his NBA debut and his first bucket. pic.twitter.com/IeDA2bChSM— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 9, 2024
I was in San Diego. I think it was the third game. I came off a ball screen and kind of planted it, landed wrong. I was out for about two weeks. Crutches boot. Just kind of work my way back and then I got really sick in Sta. Cruz and gave me a setback.
Despite the setbacks, Olivari said he is sticking to the process.
Just trust the process. Just trust to the staff. And finally important, finally inching my way back. Today is honestly the first day I felt I’m 100 percent no soreness, no stiffness. So, just coming into the game I had a lot of confidence.
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