Among the Lakers’ latest recruits on the free agent market is Wenyen Gabriel. But who is this player very little known to the public of the orange ball? This is above all a real journeyman. We take stock.
With all that is currently happening on the side of the Lakers, something had to be done to generate an electric shock. The easiest way to do this was still to make adjustments to the workforce, and that is precisely what GM Rob pelinka did recently. Indeed, the franchise announced that DeAndre Jordan had been cut, while two new players came to feed the ranks of the Californians.
However, if DJ Augustin is a veteran and a well-known name in the big league, that of Wenyen Gabriel is rather to be placed in the category “unknown to the battalion” for the general public. Never heard of him? Rest assured, it’s not surprising: the Sudanese by birth has not yet shone much in the NBA, with only 58 games played since 2019 (2 points and 2 rebounds on average). All with only one tenure on the clock, which makes it difficult for him to make himself known.
Trained at the University of Kentucky, where he played for two seasons for nearly 6 points, 5 rebounds and one block per game, the strong winger was not drafted when he left the NCAA circuit. Since then, he has mainly accumulated small contracts within the league and has built a CV of a real journeyman. In two and a half years, he is now at no less than six franchises through which he has passed! His most productive freelance was in New Orleans, where he played the entire 2020-21 campaign before setting sail again.
