Pat Spencer is one of the greatest collegiate lacrosse players ever. He’s the all-time Division 1 leader in assists, and he also ranks second in points. In 2019, he won the lacrosse equivalent of the Heisman trophy. You would think, based on his resume, that he’d still be playing lacrosse somewhere. However, when he became the inaugural draft pick of the Premier Lacrosse League (an American professional league) in 2019, he never suited up. Instead, he opted to pursue basketball.
As crazy as that sounds, he made the right decision.
Welcome back to Two-Way Talents! This series highlights two-way contract players across the association that are balling out and staking a claim for a bigger role. The goal is to give unknown players the attention they deserve. This installment is about Pat Spencer, a lacrosse legend who is proving it’s never too late for a career switch.
After completing his four years as a lacrosse player at Loyola university, Spencer used his graduate eligibility to play basketball at Northwestern. He hadn’t played organized ball since high school, but he must have been putting in reps at the rec center because he became a key player for the Wildcats right away. The 6’3” guard averaged 10.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists while starting 29 of his 31 games played. His performance in his lone year of college hoops was enough to land him in the G League after going undrafted in 2020.
Fast forward a few years, and Spencer is now on a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors. He’s not just rotting away in the G, though. He gets legitimate minutes when the team suffers injuries and is a candidate to get his contract converted. Why has he earned the trust of Golden State’s staff? He plays the game the right way and fits into their system like a glove.
The Warriors play a legendary style of basketball. Their system is unique to them and it’s been the main catalyst (besides Steph Curry, of course) of the success they’ve had in the past decade. Unlike most of the league, the Dubs don’t set many ball screens or spam the pick-and-roll. Instead, their possessions feature fluid freestyle dance routines of off-ball picks, cuts, and handoffs. The ball never sticks in one man’s hands, and no man stops moving. Only certain players can play this read-and-react form of basketball, and Pat Spencer is one of them.
Watch here as Spencer drives off the handoff. He spots Siakam over-committing from the help side and kicks it out to an open Kyle Anderson, foregoing a good, but not great, look at a pullup middie. When Anderson attacks Siakam’s closeout, Spencer fills his place in the corner and then receives another handoff before curling into an easy jumper. Remind you of someone? (Hint: he’s the greatest shooter ever.)
On this play, pesky Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado disrupts an incoming Warriors zoom action. Spencer isn’t fazed. With Alvarado out of position after jumping the handoff, there’s an open lane for a back cut. Spencer reads and reacts, darting towards the basket right away for an easy floater.
Play after play, Pat Spencer makes the right decision. If he takes a shot, it’s going to be a good one. He might not convert every time (he’s shooting 37.8% from the field on the season), but a coach could never complain about his shot selection. If he doesn’t shoot, he’s going to find the open guy. Passing is the Maryland native’s biggest strength— he leads the Warriors in assists per 36 minutes with 7.9 and is second on the team behind Stephen Curry in assist percentage. Here Spencer slips out of a ball screen, sucks in the help, and dishes a dime to a wide open shooter. Watch the bench after Anderson’s shot— both coaches and players alike loved this play.
This is a picture-perfect pick-and-roll possession. The ever-crafty, ever-patient Spencer manipulates the defense to create an easy layup for Looney.
While it may seem like Pat Spencer is a system player, his basketball IQ and unselfishness make him extremely malleable. Every team would love to have a player like him. If he can start hitting threes more often (currently 20.0% from deep on the season on low volume), he could be trusted to play meaningful minutes in the postseason because he just doesn’t make mistakes.
The Warriors, and Northwestern before them, took a gamble by betting on a guy who spent his collegiate days playing an entirely different sport. It’s paid off, though, as they’ve unearthed a born basketball player in Pat Spencer.
The Bench Mob Blog 