G League Alum Gabe Vincent Shines In NBA Finals Moment
2019-20 NBA G League MIP Gabe Vincent led the Miami Heat with 23 points en route to a Game 2 NBA Finals victory.
This year’s NBA Finals may not boast the most minor league alums it’s ever had, but it undoubtedly features the most talented and prominent ones.
Caleb Martin’s heroics helped him flirt with Eastern Conference Finals MVP honors. Max Strus also took solace in the Heat reaching the NBA Finals. Like Martin, Strus too played a key role in eliminating the Celtics — the same team that waived him prior to the 2019-2020 season.
Revenge may be sweet. Proving you belong is arguably even sweeter. Martin and Strus have gotten their chances to do so this postseason, and Game 2 of the NBA Finals was fellow undrafted G League alum Gabe Vincent’s time to shine on basketball’s biggest stage.
The 26 year old led Miami with 23 points as his squad secured a 111-108 victory, tying The Finals up at one game a piece. It was the sixth time this postseason Vincent has scored at least 19 points in a game. He’s shot 41% from deep in the playoffs.
Vincent is helping Miami secure victories. Meanwhile, his stellar play and clutch performances are probably helping him secure a bag.
It’s been quite the come up for Vincent, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer with plenty of teams intrigued and ready to knock down the door in hopes of acquiring his services. While he may truly be splashing onto the national scene for the first time amid Miami’s title run, Vincent has been a part of Heat culture for much of four seasons now.
In 2018, Vincent went undrafted. He fought through an injury-plagued rookie campaign, averaging an underwhelming 8.8 points (on a 39/29/71 shooting clip) in just 18.6 minutes through 24 games with the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League.
Call him the comeback kid. Vincent averaged 23.7 points (on a much improved 48/42/90 clip) in 20 games for Stockton before signing a Two-Way contract with Miami midseason. He finished the campaign with the affiliated Sioux Falls Skyforce, earning 2019-2020 Most Improved Player honors, ending the season with a 21.1 points average.
In 2020-21, Vincent appeared in 50 games for the Heat — the most allowed for a player on a Two-Way contract. He signed a standard NBA pact that offseason.
Two years later, the guard has not only cemented himself as a key cog in his team’s rotation, but has ascended up to assume starting point guard duties for the East’s unlikeliest top dog in the NBA Finals. He averaged 9.4 points in the regular season.
A couple of interesting things about Vincent’s time in the NBA G League: after signing his Two-Way contract with the Heat, he shot just 39% from the field in 11 games with Sioux Falls during his MIP season. What’s more, out of 55 appearances in two seasons, he started just six times.
What does this say about Vincent? Miami could have been underwhelmed by his performance at that point, but instead took note of the grit, determination, and perseverance he exhibited and gave him a longer leash to prove his worth. In addition, it’s safe to say Vincent is not only willing to accept any role, but understands how to adapt and succeed in whichever is bestowed upon him. He’s continued to demonstrate that, and Miami has reaped the benefits.
That’s seemingly what Heat culture is all about.
"Undrafted players can start in the Finals, be productive, and it doesn't mean anything that he's undrafted," Bam Adebayo said following his teammate’s big Game 2 performance (via Fox Sports). “He's giving guys [hope] who are going through his path or down that road of, 'You're not this, you're not that, you're not this.' And he's carving a space for himself. I feel like a lot of people are going to know who Gabe Vincent is."
A term that’s been used to describe Vincent a lot this postseason (most recently by Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra) is “gunslinger.” Vincent is a player who likes to look for his offense and that’s quite alright. With a high basketball IQ and an unwavering confidence, Vincent’s role as starting point guard is to run the offense while understanding that playing with a guy like Jimmy Butler means he doesn’t have to be the sole facilitator on the floor. Vincent keeps his eyes open, makes the right plays, but certainly doesn’t hesitate when it comes to hoisting up shots from deep or driving through the lane to get his points. It’s still part of his charm that when the defense lags, he’s going to make them pay.
The only difference is that after this postseason, Vincent is likely to be a much bigger part of opponents’ scouting reports.