Former Wildcat Gabe York finally get his opportunity in the NBA

As COVID continues to ravish several NBA teams across the league, former Wildcat Gabe York is finally getting his chance to play in the NBA. 

More and more Wildcats are getting opportunities in the NBA these days, and as fans of Arizona Basketball, we are not mad about that as Gabe York is the latest Wildcat to get a crack at the NBA. Gabe joins Stanley Johnson who signed with Los Angeles and Brandon Williams who signed with Portland just days ago.

Making news via social media on Wednesday afternoon, ESPN Senior NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced that the former Wildcat has signed a 10-day contract with the Orlando Magic.

Leaving the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants after five years of playing over in Europe, Israel, and in the G-League, York will finally get his chance at playing in the NBA.

For those that recall, Gabe was a standout player for the Wildcats from 2012-16 but has yet to get his chance to play in the NBA.

Granted, Gabe has been fairly close a couple of times as he has played with the G-Leagues’ Erie BayHawks from 2016-17, the Lakeland Magic from 2018-19, and most recently the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants (2021).

And with the Orlando Magic being ravished by COVID and injuries, former Wildcat Gabe York will get his chance to make an impact with the team.

So far this season, Gabe is proving that experience matters in this league. In his nine games played with the Indiana Pacers’ G-League affiliate team, he is averaging 16.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. Now he will get a chance to step up and prove his worth.

Granted there is no guarantee that Gabe will even get a significant amount of playing time; however, the opportunity is at least there, which is more than he can say that he’s had before.

Should all go well, his first chance at playing should be on Thursday evening when the team takes on the NBA’s defending World Champion, the Milwaukee Bucks.

Here’s a little reminder of just how special of a player he can be!