Everything you can ask for from someone like Lakers rookie Quincy Olivari is for him to be ready, for him not to run when the opportunity to do something great presents itself, for him to step into an opportunity ready to capitalize.
That happened Thursday night in Milwaukee, when he ignited a 20-0 run to give the Lakers and JJ Redick their first preseasonbut it was not the first time. By the time the Lakers rolled in for their third game of the preseason, the undrafted, workout signee had already established that he wasn’t going to let a moment pass him by.
Therefore, in short, he became somewhat internet famous during 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 stint, he had already caught the attention of Lakers fans.
While Bronny James‘ interview with ESPN, Olivari found himself standing by LeBron James in the background of the shot. He grabbed his phone, handed it to staff and posed for a picture with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer — while people watched wondering who exactly was wearing that No. 41 Lakers jersey.
Olivari is, after all, with the Lakers on an “Exhibit 10” contract — a non-guaranteed training camp deal that can be converted to a standard minimum deal. The more likely outcome in these scenarios is for the player to receive a bonus if he remains with the organization’s G-League team for at least 60 days.
The clip of Bronny James being interviewed with James and Olivari in the background was shared to more than 43.8 million users on the SportsCenter Twitter account.
“Did 41 just ask LeBron for a selfie?” another was amazed.
Olivari posted the photo with James on his Instagram page with the caption, “Who’s #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 creative player in basketball video games.
“They started talking about oh, so that’s ‘My Player’. … I just cried laughing. And my…, He texted me and was like ‘You have to take advantage of his marketing.’ So I haven’t gotten my media photos yet, but I got the picture with LeBron and I said, ‘I’ll just post it.’
“And I used the inscription, ‘Who is number 41?’ And that was my mantra.”
Lakers fans now know a little more.
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He was a priority addition 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 sign him.
“It was a pretty easy decision to just go there because they, they wanted me, so that already told me to screw up,” Olivari said.
The Lakers roster is currently full, including the team’s three two-way spots, although one of those can be released without incurring any salary cap complications — the cleanest path for Olivari to earn a job with the organization outside of the G-League.
On Thursday, Olivari’s spark in the team’s fourth-quarter comeback against the Bucks had the Laker bench off its 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 big talkative, loud 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 into a game and takes full court with a bloody mouth and changes the whole 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 couldn’t quite fight back tears.
“He takes the game very seriously,” Redick said. “He’s a player who, I’m talking about a care factor, he’s a player who has a care factor to do it the right way and want to fulfill whatever vision you give him. I’m glad he’s in our program, I really am . We hold him in very high regard as a coaching staff.”
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And so are his teammates.
Late Thursday night, when the Lakers flew back to Los Angeles, it was LeBron James’ turn to add some fuel to Olivari’s internet legend.
“Yeeeeaaaaahhhhh Q!!,” he posted on Instagram. “They know who is 41 now.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
