Modesto native Gabe Vincent inspires locals along journey to NBA Finals with Miami Heat

Local sports fans in search of inspiration should look no further than the 2023 NBA Finals.

The Miami Heat are playing on basketball’s largest stage and Modesto native Gabe Vincent is a big reason why. He has played in 19 postseason games this season, starting in each one. He is averaging 14 points and four assists per game and is shooting 43% overall, 41% from three-point range and 90% from the free throw line.

He scored a career high 29 points against the Boston Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals and on June 4 led the Heat to an 11-108 win in Game 2 of the NBA Finals with 23 points. The Heat evened the best-of-seven series at 1-1. Game 3 is Wednesday, June 7, in Miami at 5:30 p.m.

Though he travels the world playing a game hundreds of millions of people love, Vincent’s basketball journey began in Modesto.

From third grade until around the end of middle school, Vincent played for Modesto Slam-N-Jam, a local well-known youth basketball organization run by coach Bobby Cole.

He played in local youth leagues with his older brother, Ben, before the two joined forces for one season at Modesto Christian. Gabe was a freshman on varsity. Ben, a senior, had one year of high school basketball experience.

After his freshman year, Gabe Vincent transferred, but he didn’t go far. He played his final three high school seasons at St. Mary’s-Stockton.

As his older brother, Ben has seen Gabe grow, both literally and figuratively. And so has the 209.

Whether it’s on TV or in person, members of Central Valley have seen him take on some of the NBA’s greatest players, from LeBron James to Kyrie Irving and Giannis Antetokounmpo. And it’s all been while playing for his favorite childhood team.

Now, a team led by two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic is the only thing between Vincent and an NBA championship.

“It’s extremely surreal. I had the chance to go to some games, now in the Finals, and you’re pinching yourself,” Ben said of watching his younger brother play. “Being his brother, I have more bias than anyone. I’ve always known he’s had this in him. But his journey … I couldn’t have written this script for you. ...

“I’m just super happy that all the work he’s put in, the perseverance and resiliency he’s shown, has paid off. He’s getting this moment and he’s making the most of it. And more importantly, we’re excited that he’s having fun doing it.”

Gabe Vincent an inspiration to local athletes

NBA talent travels through UC Santa Barbara every year, but not for school.

Many of the NBA’s biggest names work out on campus during the summer because of the city’s nice weather and pristine location right on the beach. NBA legend Michael Jordan hosted a youth camp on the Santa Barbara campus for many years.

Vincent played four seasons for UCSB and, according to Basketball Reference, is the only former Gaucho currently active in the NBA with more than five career games played. Entering Game 3 of the Finals, he’d played in 195.

His name is scattered throughout UCSB’s record books despite tearing his ACL during his junior season.

Vincent played in Santa Barbara from 2014-18 and holds the record for career three-pointers (243). He is also top 10 in career points (1,441) and steals (116) and holds a number of spots in the program’s freshman top 10 record book as well.

After going undrafted in 2018, Vincent played for the Stockton Kings during the 2018-19 season. He played part of the 2019-20 season in Stockton before signing a two-way contract with the Miami Heat.

The deal meant he would split time between the NBA’s Heat and the team’s G-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

“He gave us the call like they’re about to break the news, this is what’s going on, and our first reaction was excitement,” Ben Vincent told The Bee. “... It was like, wow, you’re gonna get a shot like in the big leagues, your NBA moment.”

Gabe Vincent was in the middle of his G-League season when he got the news in January 2020, but the rest of the Vincent family was on vacation in Hawaii. They knew exactly how to celebrate the news.

“Our second reaction was, we got to go to the hat store and get a Miami Heat hat,” Ben Vincent said by phone from Miami, where he and the Vincent family will watch Games 3 and 4 at the Kaseya Center. “First, it was like, oh, my gosh, my brother is going to be in the NBA, and the second was, we gotta go support a new team now. All we had was Stockton Kings gear, so we quickly ran to get a hat so that when the news broke, we could support our new team.”

Vincent signed his first standard NBA contract, a two-year $3.48 million deal, with the Heat in 2021.

“I’m really just happy for him and his family. It couldn’t happen to a better guy,” Slam-N-Jam coach Cole said. “I went up to see him play with the Stockton team and I knew is a good basketball player, and once he started playing, I go boy, he really belongs.”

Even with a busy schedule, Vincent finds time to give back to the area. Last summer, he made a guest appearance at the Slam-N-Jam youth camp.

Though he plays in the 305, Vincent carries the 209 with him wherever he goes and provides an inspiration for local basketball players looking to know they can make it.

“The first thing that stands out is he didn’t just arrive at that point,” said Gary Porter, who coached Vincent his freshman year at Modesto Christian. “It’s time and effort he put in to get where he is now. He didn’t just all of a sudden become a pro player. When someone like that comes from here, it’s really good for local basketball because kids can see that they can do it. I also want them to understand that Gabe didn’t just all of a sudden walk out and become this guy. He put in the time and effort it took.”

Vincent is ‘a special guy,’ Heat coach says

In just his short four-year NBA career, Vincent already has been a member of two teams that have reached the NBA Finals. He was a member of the Miami team that lost to the Lakers in the 2020 Finals in the NBA bubble.

His role has increased with each season. He made his NBA debut in 2020, playing in nine games that season. He played in 68 games this season and midway through the year became the Heat’s starting point guard.

“He’s a special guy,” Heat coach Eric Spolestra said to the media after Game 2. “He took on the toughest role change for a young player. He was a gunslinger two-guard, we wanted to develop him into a combo guard, somebody that could organize us, be an irritant defensively, tough, learn how to facilitate and run a team. That’s the toughest thing to do in this league is turn a ‘2’ (shooting guard) into a ‘1’ (point guard) and he openly embraced that. He struggled at times with that because you’re trying to reinvent yourself and instead of saying this is too tough, let me be me, he’s really grown the last three years. He’s just an incredible winning player.”

Porter said Vincent displays similar qualities to another local basketball player who went on to have successful NBA career: Chuck Hayes.

“Their drive, their their ability to have a dream and not let anything stand in the way,” Porter said. “I think that’s where kids fail. They allow things to distract them, and those two guys, pro players, they have something different.”

Vincent’s journey is the definition of “Heat Culture” — a slogan fans use to refer to the hardworking nature of the Heat organization.

He was forced to take the hard route, went undrafted, made the best of his situation and continued to work until he reached his goal.

This year’s Miami Heat was the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and lost its first play-in game before running through the playoffs, beating the top seeded Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks and the No. 2 Celtics.

“That attitude of nothing matters but the end goal,” Ben Vincent said. “You’re going to show up each and every day and give it your best.”