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Steph Curry Responds After Lakers Rookie Gets Choked Up Talking About Meeting Him

It was a special night for Quincy Olivari.

Tom Dierberger

Olivari signed with the Lakers this summer after five collegiate seasons at Rice and Xavier.
Olivari signed with the Lakers this summer after five collegiate seasons at Rice and Xavier. / Spectrum SportsNet
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Los Angeles Lakers rookie guard Quincy Olivari's dream came true Friday night.

Olivari, an undrafted free agent who signed with the Lakers this summer after five seasons of college basketball, started Los Angeles's preseason tilt against the Golden State Warriors on Friday at Chase Center. Olivari's childhood hero Steph Curry didn't play, but the two players chatted after the game and took a picture together.

Olivari became emotional while recounting his exchange with Curry in his postgame press conference.

"I don't even know what to say, man," Olivari said of his conversation with Curry. "That's my favorite player ever. 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 (growing up). He signed it twice. I used to sleep in that jersey. I just wanted to be like him so bad. Just to be able to meet him, him be able to have some respect for me, and for us to talk in the back—he gave me a pair of his shoes and signed them. That meant the world to me, man. It just means a lot."

Curry acknowledged Olivari again later Friday night on Instagram.

"Pleasure bro," Curry wrote. "Appreciate you being a real one and letting me know the history!"

Olivari had a nice game himself Friday night, scoring a team-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds and two assists in the Lakers' 132–74 loss.

With the preseason now concluded, Los Angeles—which already has the maximum three two-way players under contract this season—have a tough decision to make with Olivari. But no matter what happens, the 23-year-old rookie will always have that special moment Friday night.

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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