Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra discussed Gabe Vincent’s journey since joining the team in 2020 after last night’s 111-108 Game 2 NBA Finals road win vs. the Denver Nuggets (23 points/3 assists/2 steals/8-12 FG/4-6 3-PT/3-3 FT).
(via House of Highlights):
Marc J. Spears: “Just talk about Gabe Vincent, his output tonight, and also just how incredible his story has been.”
Spoelstra: “Yeah, we love Nnamdi. We really do. If you don’t know that, the national media, because you’re not following us, please look that up, Nnamdi. He’s a special guy. He really is. He was with us in the bubble as a two-way guy, and he took on I think the toughest role change for a young player. He was a gunslinger, 2-guard. We wanted to develop him into a combo guard, somebody that could organize us, be an irritant defensively, tough, but learn how to facilitate and run a team. I think that’s the toughest thing to do in this league, is turn a 2 into a 1. He openly just embraced that. Then he struggled at times with that because you’re trying to reinvent yourself, and instead of saying, ‘This is too tough, let me be me.’ He’s really grown the last three years. He’s just an incredible winning player. This year, he’s been a starter for us, he’s been great. He’s off the bench, he’s been great. He’s like a lot of our guys, the competitive spirit. You get challenged like we’re getting challenged in this series, you hope it brings out the best in you, and that’s what it’s doing with him.”
