The preseason campaign has ended, and fans undoubtedly enjoyed the teaser for the bigger picture. It may seem simple from the outside, but the franchises’ front offices and coaching staff would be rigorously working out the numbers to lock the final rosters. The Lakers, which has a pool of young talent, must’ve had a tough task. Nevertheless, the LA team has worked out their magic and came up with a decision favoring an emotional Quincy Olivari, who also received a loud cheer from LeBron James and Stephen Curry.

In the Purple & Gold side’s last preseason challenge against the Warriors, Coach JJ Redick took a bold decision. The 40-year-old used it as an opportunity to deploy only reserve players to have a final evaluation. Guess what? Quincy Olivari seized the deal with both hands, as he dropped a game-high of 22 points and 7 rebounds. Most importantly, the 23-year-old went 5-9 from beyond the arc. It seems like the hooper has truly responded to Redick’s urge to attempt more three-pointers.

As an immediate reaction, the Lakers confirmed his spot by converting him into a two-way guard. It means Quincy Olivari has to lend his services to both the Lakers and its G-League affiliate. After the announcement, the guard received a shout-out from LeBron James. The 4x NBA Champ took to his Instagram stories and shared the official announcement along with a personalized message. It read, “YEEEEAAAAHHHHH Q!!!!! Congrats kid.” Truly, a gifted talent to receive a hype message from the King himself!

On the other end, Quincy Olivari rather had an even more special moment with Stephen Curry. The 23-year-old, in an emotional confession following the game, said the Splash Brother was his idol and he “badly” wanted to become like him with a tear in his eyes.

Moments later, the Dubs superstar shared a picture of Quincy interacting with him after the game on his Instagram and wrote, “Real as they come.” There’s no doubt that Olivari had a triple treat in a few hours. Meanwhile, the story isn’t the same for two other players.

Amid LeBron James’ cheer for Quincy Olivari, 2 Lakers reserves lose their contracts

Without a doubt, the Lakers have made the right call in converting Olivari’s contract. The 23-year-old really stood on business in the last game. When the entire team struggled to make buckets, Olivari alongside Bronny James saved some dignity for the LA side. However, they ended up suffering an embarrassing 132-74 loss. Unfortunately, two players paid the price for it. Along with Olivari’s good news, they also announced the waiving of two-way center Colin Castleton and guard Grayson Murphy.

While Grayson Murphy didn’t play a single game in the preseason, Castleton didn’t make any impact on his opportunities. On the other hand, the Lakers’ luck in another center, Christian Koloko, is still hanging by a loose thread.

The former Raptors center stayed off the court for a season with a blood clot injury and the Lakers roped him in the offseason. However, the league has yet to give a clean chit on his medical examination. So, until then, the Lakers have to rely on Jaxon Hayes to take the load off Anthony Davis. Do you think the current Lakers roster will win the championship? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.