{"id":421568,"date":"2026-08-02T08:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T08:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421568\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T08:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T08:21:17","slug":"former-los-angeles-lakers-forward-signs-with-new-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421568\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Los Angeles Lakers Forward Signs With New Team"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1920x1080-2026-08-02T090029.227.png\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"Wenyen Gabriel, Los Angeles Lakers\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Wenyen Gabriel #35 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks during warmups before a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at T-Mobile Arena on October 05, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Suns defeated the Lakers 119-115.<\/p>\n<p>Former <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> forward <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nba\/player\/wenyen-gabriel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wenyen Gabriel<\/a> has not played in the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBA<\/a> since the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel took his talents overseas and has played for four teams in four countries since. He last played for Bayern Munich of the Basketball Bundesliga in Germany.<\/p>\n<p>In an <a href=\"https:\/\/bjk.com.tr\/tr\/haber\/94821\/wenyen-gabriel-besiktasta.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">official press release<\/a> by Besiktas, the Turkey-based basketball team announced the transfer of Gabriel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBesiktas Basketball Team has signed a contract with South Sudanese-American forward Wenyen Gabriel as part of its transfer efforts for the new season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe welcome Gabriel to the Be\u015fikta\u015f family and wish him great success in our glorious jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Besiktas are two-time Turkish League champions and one-time Turkish Cup winners. They are competing in the EuroLeague this season.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel joins a roster with several other former NBA players, such as Devon Dotson, Anthony Brown, Ante Zizic, DaQuan Jeffries, Furkan Korkmaz, Jaylen Nowell and Eugene Omuruyi.<\/p>\n<p>And just like Gabriel, Brown is also a former player for the Lakers. He wore the purple and gold jersey for 29 games during the 2015-16 NBA season.<\/p>\n<p>Wenyen Gabriel\u2019s Career<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1920x1080-2026-08-02T104418.236.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6217984\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6217984\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1920x1080-2026-08-02T104418.236.png\" alt=\"Wenyen Gabriel\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"  \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-6217984\" class=\"size-full wp-image-6217984\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1920x1080-2026-08-02T104418.236.png\" alt=\"Wenyen Gabriel\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"  \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-6217984\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyWenyen Gabriel #35 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the second half of a game against the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/philadelphia-76ers\/\" title=\"Philadelphia 76ers\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"368558\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Philadelphia 76ers<\/a> at Crypto.com Arena on January 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.<\/p>\n<p>After two seasons with the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mens-college-basketball\/kentucky-wildcats\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kentucky Wildcats<\/a>, Wenyen Gabriel declared for the 2018 NBA draft. He went undrafted but signed a two-way contract with the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/sacramento-kings\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sacramento Kings<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel didn\u2019t suit up for the Kings during the 2018-19 season. He made his NBA debut the following campaign, playing 11 games for Sacramento before getting traded to the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/portland-trail-blazers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Portland Trail Blazers<\/a> as part of a multi-player deal.<\/p>\n<p>The South Sudanese-American player became a free agent after the season and signed with the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/new-orleans-pelicans\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>. He played 21 games for the Pelicans.<\/p>\n<p>After getting waived by the Pelicans before the 2021-22 season, Gabriel joined the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/brooklyn-nets\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Brooklyn Nets<\/a> on a 10-day contract. He also signed a 10-day contract with the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/los-angeles-clippers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/los-angeles-lakers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> came calling in March 2022, signing Gabriel to a two-way contract. The Lakers rewarded him with a standard contract before the end of the season.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel\u2019s best year came with the Lakers the following year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statmuse.com\/nba\/player\/wenyen-gabriel-9845\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">averaging<\/a> 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds in 68 games. However, it wasn\u2019t enough to earn him another standard contract in the summer of 2023.<\/p>\n<p>Before leaving the NBA, Gabriel played five games for the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nba\/memphis-grizzlies\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Memphis Grizzlies<\/a> during the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n<p>Overseas, Gabriel took his talents to Puerto Rico, Israel, Greece and Germany before signing with Besiktas.<\/p>\n<p>Gabriel on Playing for the Lakers<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Z6McQUEnkLg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">end-of-the-season interview<\/a> for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2023, Wenyen Gabriel explained how grateful he was to be given a shot by one of the most historic teams in NBA history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI played a handful of games with different teams, but this is the longest season I\u2019ve had in the NBA, in terms of just games and minutes,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cAnd it was something that was able to show the world what I could do as a player. I just think that the staff believes in me as well, the way I believed in myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for Gabriel, the Lakers fired Darvin Ham that summer and replaced him with JJ Redick.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/paolodavid99\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Juan Paolo David<\/a> Juan Paolo David is a sports journalist covering basketball for Heavy. He has a decade of experience writing about the NBA and WWE. He&#8217;s currently based in the Philippines.  <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/paolodavid99\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Juan Paolo David<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Wenyen Gabriel #35 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks during warmups before a preseason game against the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":421569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":["post-421568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=421568"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421568\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/421569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=421568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=421568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=421568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}