Lakers News: Breakout Bench Player Unpacks Viral Moment with LeBron James

John Robinson | Oct 13, 2024

Jul 7, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Quincy Olivari (41) controls the ball against the Golden State Warriors during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers took on the Milwaukee Bucks in a preseason matchup this past Thursday where they put together an improbable comeback led by their bench. Los Angeles was down by nearly 15 on Thursday but rallied thanks to a high-energy performance by guard Quincy Olivari, who had recently gone viral on X for taking a picture with LeBron James.

During Lakers' media day a few weeks back, Olivari went viral when a video surfaced of the former Xavier guard asking James for a picture. A user on X quote tweeted the video with a caption that read " Who's number 41 ?" and it would spurn a number of jokes regarding Olivari.

Yo that who is #41 tweet is hilarious 😂😂, and the MyPlayer comments are sending me!!!

— Quincy Olivari (@quincyolivari) October 1, 2024

Olivari would have the last laugh after his performance on Thursday opened up the Lakers' fanbase to what he could actually do. During their comeback against the Bucks, Olivari would score 11 points in just about nine minutes of action which including him going three of four from the three-point line.

After this performance, Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke with reporters about how Olivari was the catalyst that propelled them to a win. Coach Redick highlighted Olivari's defensive intensity picking up 95-feet and his consistency shooting from distance.

“I thought, in particular, Quincy just completely changed the game,” head coach JJ Redick said postgame. “To me, and I told our guys this after, what he did is the blueprint for what we’re asking of a few of our players in terms of just picking up full court, being disruptive, taking time off the shot clock. I just thought he executed exactly what we want from someone in his position."

“We’ve challenged a number of guys and they’ve done it well to varying degrees but I haven’t seen it executed that well until tonight with Quincy.”

Olivari is currently on an Exhibit-10 contract and currently fighting for a roster spot with the Lakers, and with his recent performance there will be some questions the Los Angeles front office and coaching staff will have to answer.

During a post-game press conference Thursday night, Olivari talked about what he tries to bring on a nightly basis as he has limited opportunities to impress his coaches and fans.

"Just keep going. I hold my head high on the fact that I'm an energy guy." Olivari Said

Quincy Olivari, the Lakers’ Exhibit 10 signee who scored 11 pts off the bench tonight to lead LAL to its first preseason win, spoke about the viral attention he got from taking a selfie with LeBron on media day pic.twitter.com/lSqPK1UnrC

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 11, 2024

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