Almost every year, the Heat manage to pull unknown players out of their hats and make them important members of the rotation. The last one? Gabe Vincent, who has seen his role expand dramatically this season on the South Beach side.
A year ago, Gabe Vincent was a player that not many people outside of Miami knew. Today he is anything but an international superstar, but he has nonetheless become a significant element in Erik Spoelstra’s rotation. 68 games played regularly, 27 starts, more than 23 minutes on average, all for statistics of 8.7 points and 3.1 assists per night with almost 37% of 3-point successes. The 26-year-old guard even took advantage of Kyle Lowry’s struggles to chain his tenure in the playoffs and miss out on some great performances in the beautiful Heat up to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. A real step forward therefore for Mister Vincent, who thus extends the line of these non-drafted players who are making a place in the NBA thanks to the development process of the Heat. Because yes, Gabe Vincent, he was left out in the 2018 Draft and then had to spend a year and a half with the Stockton Kings in the G League. He only arrived in Florida in January 2020 and through the back door (a two-way contract), before making a name for himself by becoming the minor league MIP. He helped him get a real contract with the Heat in the summer of 2021, and you know the rest.
Gabe Vincent is one of the great stories of the Heat 2021-22 version. And if Miami has only gone to one win in the NBA Finals despite plagues and absences, it’s also thanks to him. Confirmed this season waiting for the Modenese.
