Former Miami Heat and current Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent talked about the adjustment of playing for the Lakers and the effect that LeBron James has on the team.
Vincent, who signed a three-year, $33 million deal with the Lakers this past offseason, shared with the Sun Sentinel the difference between playing for the Lakers and the Heat.
“It’s very different,” Vincent said. “No matter where you’re at, the Lakers, that name carries a lot of weight. And then the LeBron effect, you can’t talk about that team without talking about him in that way. It’s a lot of attention. It’s a lot of eyes. I wouldn’t say better or worse, it’s different.”
James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, is one of the greatest players in the history of the league, and he commands a ton of attention.
The four-time champion is in his 21st NBA season, and he’s still playing at an elite level for the Lakers. In five games this season, James has averaged 24.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 56.5 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Playing for the Lakers is certainly a different environment for Vincent, but he’s used to the big stage from his time in Miami.
Vincent was a key cog in the Heat rotation for multiple seasons and started in the playoffs as the team made the NBA Finals in the 2022-23 campaign as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference.
During the regular season with Miami in the 2022-23 campaign, Vincent showcased his talent by averaging 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 40.2 percent from the field and 33.4 percent from beyond the arc.
This season as a Laker, Vincent has averaged 6.0 points and 3.0 assists per game.
There are always going to be eyes on the team that James plays for, especially since he’s still playing at such a high level. Earlier in his career, James made the NBA Finals in eight straight seasons, and he’s gone to the Finals 10 times in his career.
He’s hoping to reach the Finals for the 11th time this season, especially since the Lakers were close last season, losing in the Western Conference Finals to the Denver Nuggets.
Vincent is hoping to use his playoff experience to help James and the Lakers in their pursuit of another title.
