Los Angeles Lakers guard Gabe Vincent has recovered from a back injury and is set to play in the team’s season-opening game against the defending champion Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.
Vincent, who joined the team as a free agent in the offseason, practiced on Saturday and Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham described Vincent as being “in the clear.”
Earlier this week, Vincent was held out of Thursday’s preseason game against the Phoenix Suns. At that time, Ham termed it a precautionary move and mentioned it was to make sure Vincent would be healthy for the opener in Denver.
Vincent is slated to play off the bench for the Lakers after signing a three-year, $33 million deal.
Vincent, 27, spent the past four seasons with the Miami Heat. He played a total of 195 games (68 starts) with Miami and averaged 7.7 points.
He was a key figure last postseason for the Heat, playing 30.5 minutes per game and averaging 12.7 in 22 postseason games, highlighted by a 29-point outburst in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics. Miami reached the NBA Finals before losing to the Nuggets.
Vincent played college basketball at UC Santa Barbara and was undrafted in 2018. He played in the G League and eventually caught on with the Heat midway during the 2019-20 season.
Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) is day-to-day. Guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, the 17th pick of the 2023 draft, is nursing a knee injury and could sit out..
–Field Level Media
