Young Laker Breaks Down After Meeting Childhood Hero Stephen Curry

A Lakers guard gets emotional when talking about his idol.

Oct 15, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) gestures at halftime against the Los Angeles Lakers at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images / Candice Ward-Imagn Images

One of the best stories from Los Angeles Lakers preseason has been the emergence of guard Quincy Olivari.

The former Xavier guard went from a viral X meme with LeBron to turning heads in the Lakers' fanbase as he has been an effective contributor when he has had the opportunity to be on the basketball court.

After going off for 11 points to lead the Lakers to a late game win earlier this preseason, he followed that up with a 22-point outing on Friday against the Golden State Warriors.

Olivari showcased a defensive tenacity and long distance shooting prowess, ultimately inspiring the team to promote him from an Exhibit 10 training camp signing to a reported two-way contract.

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Olivari has gone viral yet again after he got emotional speaking to reporters about how Warriors legend Stephen Curry has impacted his career.

The Lakers guard talked about Curry being his favorite player of all time and how as a kid he got his signature Warriors jersey signed by the greatest shooter to ever grace a basketball court.

Quincy Olivari got emotional talking about meeting his idol, Stephen Curry. pic.twitter.com/fnMjI3Mfl1

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) October 19, 2024

"It's crazy because that's my favorite player ever," the 23-year-old Olivari said. "The first thing he told me was, 'I’m a big fan of your game,' and truth be told, I'm a big fan of him. I had his jersey; he signed it twice. I used to sleep under that jersey. I used to want to be like him so badly."

Olivari was gifted a pair of signed shoes by Curry after their final preseason game of the season. The encounter with Curry was documented on Olivari's Instagram, when the undrafted guard posted an image of himself and his idol.

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A post shared by Quincy Olivari (@quincyolivari)

Watching Olivari make the most of his opportunity has been an inspiring story for Los Angeles fans to follow as he has gone from " who is that taking a picture with Bron?" to a household name amongst the fanbase.

For first-year Lakers head coach JJ Redick, Olivari might be the perfect type of player that fits within the schematics of how he plans to run this team's offense this upcoming season.

Olivari has a skillset that spaces the floor and provides tenacious on-ball pressure to opposing guards, Without a doubt, he will be a player to monitor throughout the season, when he'll toggle between L.A. proper and its NBAGL affiliate, the South Bay Lakers.

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