All you can ask of someone like Lakers rookie Quincy Olivari is for him to be ready, for him to not run when the opportunity to do something great presents itself, for him to step into opportunity ready to capitalize.
That happened Thursday night in Milwaukee, as he ignited a 20-0 run to give the Lakers and JJ Redick their first preseason win, but it wasn’t the first time. By the time the Lakers rolled in for their third game of the preseason, the undrafted, training camp signee had already established he wasn’t going to let a moment slip past him.
It’s why, briefly, he got a little internet famous on media day.
Before Olivari’s big fourth quarter Thursday, when he scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds and had two assists during a 9-minute, 24-second shift, he had already captured Lakers fans’ attention.
During Bronny James’ interview with ESPN, Olivari found himself standing next to LeBron James in the background of the shot. He grabbed his phone, handed it to a staffer and posed for the picture with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer — while people watching wondered who exactly was wearing that No. 41 Lakers jersey.
Olivari is, after all, with the Lakers on an “Exhibit 10” contract — a nonguaranteed training camp deal that can be converted to a standard minimum deal. The more likely outcome in these scenarios is that the player receives a bonus, should he remain with the organization’s G-League team for at least 60 days.
The clip of Bronny James going to be interviewed with LeBron James and Olivari in the background got shared to more than 43.8 million users on SportsCenter’s X account.
“Did 41 just ask LeBron for a selfie?” another wondered.
Olivari posted the photo with James on his Instagram page with the caption, “Who is #41.”
His friends made sure Olivari, who played four years at Rice before a fifth season at Xavier, saw all the jokes — his favorites being the ones that compared him to a generic create-a-player in basketball video games.
“They started talking about, oh that, like, that’s ‘My Player.’ … I was just crying laughing. And my homeboy, he texted me and was like, ‘You got to capitalize on his marketing.’ So I hadn’t got my media day pictures yet, but I got the picture with LeBron and I said, ‘I’m just gonna post it.’
“And I used the caption, ‘Who’s number 41?’ And that’s been my mantra.”
Lakers fans know a little bit more now.
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He was a priority add for the team in undrafted free agency, with South Bay Lakers general manager Nick Mazzella calling Olivari after the first night of the draft to recruit him.
“It was a fairly easy decision to just go there because they, they wanted me, so that, that already told me off rip,” Olivari said.
The Lakers roster is currently full, including the team’s three two-way spots, though one of those can be freed up without causing any salary cap complications — the cleanest pathway for Olivari to earn a job with the organization outside of the G-League.
Thursday, Olivari’s spark in the team’s fourth-quarter comeback against the Bucks had the Lakers bench off their feet. He created turnovers with his full-court defense. He hit multiple three-point shots and attacked the rim despite his 6-foot-3 frame.
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“He has an infectious spirit and soul about him,” Redick said. “It’s not that he’s some super talkative, boisterous guy. But he just carries himself well. He carries himself with intent. His work ethic is really high. And I think people respond to that.
“And when you have someone who cares, who is a good teammate, who does all the right things and then he comes in a game and is picking up full court with a bloody mouth and changing the entire dynamic for us as a team, it’s easy to respond to that as a teammate and as a coaching staff. And I thought he just lit a fire for us.”
His passion for basketball extended to the postgame, when in an on-court radio interview, Olivari failed to fully fight back tears.
“He takes the game very seriously,” Redick said. “He’s a player who, I talk about care factor, he’s a player who has a care factor for doing it the right way and wanting to execute whatever vision you give him. I’m excited that he’s in our program, I really am. We look at him as a coaching staff in very high regard.”
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And so do his teammates.
Late Thursday night the Lakers flew back to Los Angeles, it was LeBron James’ turn to add some fuel to the Olivari internet legend.
“Yeeeeaaaahhhhh Q!!,” he posted on Instagram. “They know who 41 is now.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
