The debate of who the five greatest players in NBA history are is one that will rage on forever, and perhaps there is no true objective answer at any given time.
Some answer with the players they think were the best at each of the five positions, while others will mention the five best players overall irrespective of position.
Guard Gabe Vincent, whom the Los Angeles Lakers just signed to a three-year, $33 million contract, was asked who his five greatest basketball players are, and he named one late Lakers legend, a living Lakers great and one superstar currently with the team (h/t Lakers Daily).
Gabe Vincent's top 5 players of all time (in no particular order):
LeBron James, of course, is seemingly always mentioned on these lists. Over the last several years, an increasing number of people have believed he’s either the greatest of all time or one of the two or three greatest.
Kobe Bryant is on many people’s lists as well, and of course, many still feel no one was greater than Michael Jordan.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar often gets shortchanged in these debates, however. With six NBA championships, six regular-season MVPs (the most ever), two NBA Finals MVPs, two scoring titles and the second-most career points in league history, he deserves a high and permanent spot on everyone’s list.
The Lakers may have upgraded their guard depth by signing Gabe Vincent this summer.
When the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a three-year, $33 million contract with guard Gabe Vincent, plenty of fans were intrigued, but some questioned the fit.
Vincent, as the latter group saw it, was no better than Dennis Schroder, the man he replaces on the roster. In fact, some believe Vincent may have been a slight downgrade, given Schroder’s speed and quickness in the open court, not to mention the chemistry he built with the team this past season.
However, Vincent could prove a better fit for the Lakers even if he isn’t a better player overall, and for role players, fit is often more important than being a better overall player.
Plenty of fans believe Gabe Vincent is a tremendous signing for the Los Angeles Lakers. The team gave him a three-year contract reportedly worth $33 million to come west, and he has the potential to be an important contributor.
But some fans are convinced Vincent isn’t an upgrade over the outgoing Dennis Schroder. A few even believe he is a step down from the German native who was an integral part of the Lakers’ success this past season.
However, many scouts and executives around the league seem to like the addition of Vincent. In fact, one executive compared him to another guard who had substantial success with LeBron James: Mario Chalmers (h/t Lakers Daily).
“One league executive raved about the Lakers signing Gabe Vincent, saying the guard is ‘the perfect point guard to play alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis,’” wrote Woike.
“The executive cited Mario Chalmers as a player who reminds him of Vincent. ‘(Vincent) doesn’t need the ball, can shoot it and makes the right decisions. And, he can really defend.’”
James and Chalmers spent four seasons together on the Miami Heat. While Chalmers didn’t put up big stats, he was a reliable 3-point shooter that also contributed defensively.
Schroder needs to ball in his hands to be productive, but Vincent is reliable in catch-and-shoot situations, which would make him, at least conceivably, a better fit next to James. Although both are strong defenders, Vincent seems to do better than Schroder while guarding bigger backcourt players.
While D’Angelo Russell, at least as of now, appears to be the favorite to start at point guard this coming season, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reported that Vincent could supplant him depending on what happens in training camp.
Many people around the NBA love what the Los Angeles Lakers have done in free agency this summer.
The team kept D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves on new contracts while bringing in a few new complementary players to help it make a run at another world championship.
One of those new players is guard Gabe Vincent, a gritty 6-foot-2 man who was a big reason the Miami Heat made a Cinderella run to the NBA Finals this past season.
Vincent officially signed on Thursday for $33 million over three years, and he talked about how he feels he will be a plug-and-play type of player for Los Angeles.
“I can step in with any group of other four guys and have an impacting role.” Gabe Vincent knows what he brings to the table for the #LakeShow. pic.twitter.com/jykTtHTAUQ
Vincent will always give 100 percent while playing aggressive defense, but he has also shown an ability to hit open 3-pointers, especially in big situations. During the playoffs, he averaged 12.7 points and 3.5 assists a game while hitting 37.8% from 3-point range.
This is a return home for him in some ways, as he’s originally from the Central Valley and played his college ball at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Here is what some pundits in the national media are saying about how the Lakers have done in free agency.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ main objective heading into free agency this year was to retain as much of their core as possible. They achieved that goal by getting Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell to agree to new contracts without overpaying for them.
Guards Dennis Schroder and Lonnie Walker IV, both of whom played key roles throughout the season, left as free agents. But the Lakers may have found a replacement for Schroder by signing Gabe Vincent, who helped the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals with some gritty play at both ends of the court.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles added wings Taurean Prince, who is considered a 3-and-D forward, and Cam Reddish, who is considered to have untapped potential. The center position remains a weakness, but the team agreed to terms with Jaxson Hayes, an athletic and energetic 6-foot-11 big man.
All in all, it has been a very solid free agency period for the Lakers so far. Here is what some pundits in the national media are saying about how the team has done.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been rather successful in free agency so far: They achieved their main goal of keeping their core intact. Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and D’Angelo Russell agreed to remain with the team on new contracts, which will allow it to establish roster continuity for the first time in a few years.
But Los Angeles also went out and made a couple of additions. One of its new players is guard Gabe Vincent, a plucky two-way guard who is thought to be on an upward trajectory.
He played an integral role in helping the Miami Heat unexpectedly reach the NBA Finals, and his ability to defend and hit 3-pointers can bolster a Lakers squad that is looking to contend for the world championship.
In fact, according to team sources, there is an opportunity for Vincent to supplant Russell in the starting lineup this fall (h/t Lakers Daily).
“The projected lineups are fluid. Russell is the early favorite to start at point guard, but Vincent could earn the spot if he outplays him in training camp, team sources told The Athletic,” wrote Jovan Buha.
Whether he starts or comes off the bench, Vincent should become a key complementary player for the Purple and Gold, especially if he hits a high percentage from 3-point range on a consistent basis.
The Lakers will be adding Gabe Vincent, a two-way guard who helped the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals just weeks ago.
The Los Angeles Lakers dramatically turned around their fortunes a few months ago with several midseason trades, and it led to them reaching the Western Conference finals.
They created an identity for themselves that was similar to the one they had when they won the NBA championship during the 2019-20 season. They became a very strong defensive team that enjoyed creating fast-break and early offense opportunities from defensive rebounds and turnovers.
Executive Rob Pelinka said he wants to bring back as much of the team’s new core as possible, but he also stated his intent to bring in outside players that fit that new identity.
On Friday, the Lakers reportedly agreed to a three-year, $33 million deal with Gabe Vincent.
Free agent guard Gabe Vincent has agreed on a three-year, $33 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. Vincent’s agent, Bill Neff, negotiated the new deal for a tremendous undrafted success story.
Vincent is an improbable success story and one of several undrafted players who helped the Miami Heat reach the NBA Finals this season. A native of California’s Central Valley, he played his college ball at the University of California, Santa Barbara just 100 miles away from Los Angeles.
At 6-foot-2, Vincent is a gutsy guard who is a decent 3-point shooter and can play tenacious defense.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to Gabe Vincent signing with the Lakers.
According to Shams Charania, Gabe Vincent is signing a three-year, $33M deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
After missing out on Bruce Brown and Troy Brown, the Lakers managed to land Vincent, who had an impressive outing in the 2023 playoffs with the Miami Heat.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the latest news in Hollywood.
The NBA playoffs expanded to include 16 teams in 1984 and no 8-seeds have ever won the championship.
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First, let’s start with a caveat. The Miami Heat are not like other No. 8 seeds in league history.
Miami actually finished with the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference during the regular season. But after losing to the Atlanta Hawks during the first game of the play-in tournament back in April, the Heat had to beat the Bulls to claw their way back into the postseason.
But they became the eighth seed and had to face the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs in the East. After upsetting the Bucks and then the Knicks and then the Celtics, they earned a spot in the NBA Finals.
The NBA playoffs expanded to include 16 teams in 1984 and no 8-seeds have ever won the championship. But even without a title, the Heat are in the midst of making history.
Miami's 13 wins are the most by an 8-seed in a single postseason.
After defeating the Nuggets in Game 2 in Denver on Monday, Miami secured its 13th win of the postseason. That officially became the most by any No. 8 seed in NBA history, surpassing the previous record (12) set by the Knicks in 1998-99.
This year’s Miami squad and the 1999 Knicks are the only two 8-seeds to ever advance past the second round. Aside from the 1999 Knicks, per Basketball-Reference, no other No. 8 seed has ever won more than seven games in a single postseason.
In fact, we have never seen a No. 7 seed win an NBA championship, either. The lowest-seeded team to win the NBA Finals was the No. 6 seed Rockets back in 1995.
So even if you think the Heat are not a regular No. 8 seed because they had the seventh-best record in the East, this is still arguably the most improbable upset run we have seen in the NBA.
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We updated our 2023 NBA Mock Draft, and we have Amen Thompson to the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 3 overall. Here is why:
“I do not think the Portland Trail Blazers end up using this draft pick and would prefer win-now pieces to play alongside Damian Lillard next year, and instead, I’d expect them to trade it to a team seeking to find their point guard of the future in Scoot Henderson.
But until a trade is made, I’m going to act as if Portland is indeed making the pick. In that case, be open to the possibility that the Trail Blazers may be unafraid to take an unconventional route and select Amen Thompson. As he told Casey Holdahl:
“Everybody says there’s a clear-cut top 3. I feel like that’s kind of doing the draft a disservice … It’s more than three, for sure, and if there’s three … I’m one of them.”
Just look at who they drafted in the lottery last year and you can learn a bit of what they may value. Shaedon Sharpe was considered a “wildcard” after not playing in college but he is also one of the most athletic players in the world. Frankly, so is Amen. Both players are 6-foot-6 or taller and they would be an unreal duo in the same lineup.”
HoopsHype breaks down the impending NBA free agents who most helped their stock with their play in the 2023 playoffs.
Recently, we discussed the prospective NBA free agents who hurt their stock the most in the playoffs, an unfortunate list including the likes of Dillon Brooks and D’Angelo Russell.
Today, we’re taking a more positive route and instead talking about the guys who have helped their stock the most with their play in the postseason, a seven-player list featuring some very promising young players who were able to step up on the biggest stage and performed when their teams most needed it over the past couple of months.
Below, check out the free agents who helped up their stock the most in the 2023 playoffs.
