Former Xavier guard Quincy Olivari scores 1st NBA points with Los Angeles Lakers

Posted by Admin December 9, 2024 NBA

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Quincy Olivari’s first NBA points came in fitting fashion.

Making his NBA debut Sunday night for the Los Angeles Lakers, the former Xavier guard connected on his first career shot attempt, a 3-pointer from the left wing in the second quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Since agreeing to an Exhibit-10 deal with the Lakers in June after going undrafted, Olivari has been a hot topic both on and off the court.

In the NBA Summer League, Olivari averaged 5.8 points over five games, but did have a 20-point performance. In the NBA preseason, Olivari earned high praise from superstar LeBron James and first-year Lakers head coach J.J. Redick for his role (11 points) in LA’s comeback win over Milwaukee.

After scoring 22 points in a preseason loss to Golden State, Olivari was emotional in a press conference when talking about meeting his idol, Steph Curry.

That led to former UC Bearcat Kenyon Martin blasting Olivari while on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, then a prompt response from Olivari and the Xavier men’s basketball Twitter account.

On Friday, ESPN reported that Olivari was finalizing a shoe endorsement deal with Curry’s Curry Brand, becoming just the second active NBA player to sign with Curry’s Under Armour product.

In October, Olivari signed a two-way contract with the Lakers and averaged 18.6 points over seven games in the NBA’s G-League with the South Bay Lakers before making his debut Sunday night.

Last season, Olivari’s lone year with the Musketeers after transferring from Rice, he set Xavier’s single-season record for 3-pointers (106) in 34 games. Olivari was an honorable mention all-Big East selection and surpassed 2,000 career collegiate points.

A second-team All-District 5 selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Olivari was selected to the Division I East All-Stars for the 2024 NABC-Reese’s Division I College All-Star Game.