It was the night of Oct. 11 and social media lit up with posts from Los Angeles Lakers fans. Undrafted guard Quincy Olivari had just led the Lakers to a comeback win against the Milwaukee Bucks in preseason. Against all odds, Quincy Olivari used that performance to secure a two-way contract from the organization, ensuring that he’d spend time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers as well.
But with the Lakers in need of frontcourt help, the front office made the decision to cut Olivari in favor of big man Trey Jemison back in January.
Since then, Quincy Olivari has returned to the G League full-time with the South Bay Lakers. He’s been among the team’s top players, forming a strong backcourt duo with Bronny James. While he awaits his next possible NBA opportunity, Olivari reflected on what he learned during his brief stint with the Lakers.
“It wasn’t because of anything I did, and that was made clear by the Lakers. It’s just a business,” Olivari told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “That’s something I’ve also learned, it’s just a business. You can’t take it personally. At first, when it happened, I was hurt, but I just learned from it. Continue to grow and continue to take everything day by day.”
Quincy Olivari’s G League Development
After being cut by the Lakers, Olivari remained in the organization as a regular roster player for South Bay. The move has given Olivari the opportunity to continue to grow within the Lakers organization, while also giving him the opportunity to showcase himself for other potentially interested NBA teams.
It’s also given him a place where he can continue learning as a professional, and to develop his game. With February coming to a close, South Bay has a handful of games left in March. Olivari recently took time during the All-Star break to kind of reflect on his journey up to now, and map out what he wants to accomplish during this final month of the regular season.
“It’s definitely a development league, I looked at it as that since the start. . .This week past the All-Star break, I just kind of sat down and decompressed after everything that’s happened from summer league up until now,” Olivari said. “I realized I got, I think it’s 15 games left, to just take every moment day by day, every game, game by game and give it all I have. I’m thankful that I’m in this situation.”
During the G League regular season portion of the schedule, Quincy Olivari has appeared in 17 games for South Bay, including five starts, at a little over 34 minutes per game.
He’s been averaging 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists. His shooting percentages may not been too efficient (37.8 percent from the field, 32.6 percent from three-point range), but one of the most important aspect of his game he’s shown is his ability to be a playmaker.
When Bronny James is assigned to South Bay, Olivari shares ball-handling duties with him. But when Bronny is called back up to the Lakers, Olivari becomes more of a primary ball-handler and facilitator. During a recent South Bay game on Feb. 20, he finished with a near triple-double of 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
What’s even more impressive is the seven assists came without a single turnover. His seven assists were the second-highest amount he’s dished out this year, with his career-high being nine. And according to Olivari, the increased focus on being a playmaker came from Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant.
“I was watching the USA basketball documentary, Kevin Durant said, ‘just play the game the right way, the game will always show you respect if you give it respect.’ So I just made that a priority, just to come out here, don’t look to score. . .trying to slow down and just let the game come to me,” Olivari said. “I’ve always believed that I could be a good playmaker, but I’ve just never been asked to do it.”
Quincy Olivari balancing scoring, playmaking
But aside from being a playmaker, the South Bay Lakers are going to rely on Olivari to be a scorer as well. He’s been a scoring threat at the guard position for his entire career going back to college.
Olivari played his final year of college basketball at Xavier where he averaged a career-high of 19.1 points. And it was his scoring ability that first caught the eyes of Lakers fans when he dropped 11 points while shooting 75 percent (3-of-4) from three-point range.
When it comes to the NBA, Olivari probably projects as a point guard rather than the shooting guard role he’s played throughout his career. That’s why the G League is a perfect place for him to hone those skills and find that balance between scoring and playmaking.
“They’re not necessarily asking me to hunt. My whole life it’s just kind of been like, go get a bucker or running a play for me to go get one. Now it’s letting the game come to me. Catch and shoot, they close out late, shoot it. They close out too close, drive it. And if the coach says, ‘Quincy, go attack downhill,’ then I attack downhill,” Olivari said. “But it’s more just reading the game, having a feel and getting out of the mindset of having to hunt for my shot.”
During his time with the Lakers on his two-way contract, Olivari appeared in only two games, getting his first career NBA points against the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 9 in a win. And he knows that if he wants to make it back to the NBA, it’s going to hinge on his ability to adjust and do other things besides just scoring the ball.
“It’s how quick can you adjust to a role. My whole life I’ve been asked to score. So when I got here, especially summer league and preseason, it’s ‘Q, we don’t need you to score,’” Olivari said. “We need you to pick up full-court, bring energy and play hard as hell, and I did that.”
The post What Quincy Olivari learned during his time with the Lakers [Exclusive] appeared first on ClutchPoints.
