EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MIAMI HEAT PLAYER GABE VINCENT
During Our Interview It Is Clear To See That Vincent Has An Intense Work Ethic, Is Very Grounded, Humble, And Is A Man of Strong Faith
By Contemporary Approaches | May 8, 2021
In our interview, he says: “I believe in God, and I give thanks to him daily. My grandfather was a pastor in Nigeria, so faith runs deep in my family. It helps to set the foundation and make you have some reference to accountability. It plays a huge part in my life and success.”
Miami Heat player Gabriel Nnamdi Vincent, better known as Gabe Vincent, has experienced a lot of career milestones in 2020. The year started when the Miami Heat announced on January 8, 2020, that they signed him to a two-way contract. The 24-year-old point guard made his NBA debut in Orlando on January 29 against the Orlando Magic, and later in the year, the Heat made it to the 2020 NBA Finals with the Lakers. In June 2020, the NBA awarded Vincent the G League’s Most Improved Player award.
Vincent was born in Modesto, California, and attended St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, California. From 2014 to 2018, he played college basketball for UC Santa Barbara. After graduating, from 2018-2019, he had a pre-draft workout with the Sacramento Kings and then played for the Stockton Kings before joining the Miami Heat.
Miami Heat’s coach Erik Spoelstra told the Santa Barbara New Press that Vincent, “fits so many of the things that we like… high character, super-hard work ethic…he’s developed his game through a lot of sweat and hard work behind the scenes when no one was watching. We relate to guys like that. We’re fans of his and we’re excited to be able to develop him.” He is currently averaging 7.8 points and 1.9 assists in 13 games.
In our interview with Vincent, he says, “it’s crazy, growing up, basketball was not my thing. I played soccer because my dad and brothers played that, and then at 11-years-old I quit and then casually started getting into basketball at the YMCA. Then like in sixth grade, I thought, let’s see if this can get me a scholarship. But then, in high school, I started to take it more seriously and saw that it could be my career.” He says, “it took a lot of years of hard work, and it was a roller coaster ride. You have to have perseverance and believe in yourself. There are good days and bad days. We all doubt ourselves at times, but then we have to snap out of it and say we got this far, so let’s continue the journey and continue working hard and moving forward. Always remember the big picture and not get distracted. It takes a lot of things to go right to get this far, so I’m very grateful that I made it here. ”
During our interview, it is clear that Vincent has an intense work ethic, is very grounded, humble, and a man of strong faith. He says, “I believe in God, and I give thanks to him daily. My grandfather was a pastor in Nigeria, so faith runs deep in my family. It helps to set the foundation and make you have some reference to accountability. It plays a huge part in my life and success.” Dealing with the mental stress of his profession, he says that balance is important, and he does meditation. He suggested an app he uses called ‘Vision Pursue’ which is an app for training to have a performance mindset and dealing with stress.
Vincent’s father is Nigerian, and his mother is from Connecticut. He played for the Nigerian National Basketball team
His father is from Nigeria, and his mother is from Connecticut. She moved to California in the eighties, and that's where she met his dad. He is the youngest of three brothers, one is 27, and the other is 34. Both of his parents have a doctorate in Psychology. His mother currently has her own Psychology Practice, and his father runs a Foster Family Agency.
Asked if growing up with parents who have a doctorate in psychology influenced him, he says: "Yes, it definitely helps me in my everyday life with interacting with people and in my profession. Growing up, I would help my mom in her office at the front desk, and I dealt with people from all aspects of life. People would come in with all sorts of problems, and they would sometimes want to talk to anyone who wanted to listen. So I learned at an early age how to listen and how to engage with people. I learned how to pick up on certain cues naturally. For example, you learn how to respond to people, like what makes someone angry or what makes them happy, or in my personal profession what motivates someone."
He says keeping close to his heritage is important; he spent time visiting Nigeria and played for the Nigerian National Basketball team. On the cultural side he says, "I'm definitely into the music; I love Afro-beats and got into it more last time I went to Nigeria. 'Burna boy' is one of the biggest artists from Nigeria now. Afro-beat is also more popular now in the U.S."
When asked how supportive his parents were, he says, “they are extremely supportive of my basketball career, but education is important to them, so I made sure I graduated from college.” On the Nigerian side of the family, they usually want you to be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or something like that. But luckily, my dad was always very supportive. He adds that he is very close to his parents and family and looks forward to any opportunity to visit them in California.
Vincent is only 24-years-old and has a long career ahead of him, especially considering his intense work ethic and perseverance.