Pat Spencer is not a lacrosse player in the NBA.
Yes, he starred in lacrosse at Loyola University in Maryland. Yes, he won the Tewaaraton Award in 2019 as the nation’s best player. Yes, he resembles an athlete from a country club sport who won a sweepstakes to get on the Golden State Warriors. But don’t let the complexion be misdirection.
Spencer is a hooper. Basketball courses through his veins. It warms his chest. Drives his ambitions. He’s been this way since he was a kid. It’s just that his growth spurt came later. So he went with the scholarship offer in his hand and chose to become a hooper with a lacrosse scholarship.
But he worked his way back into basketball, his dream. Lacrosse served him well. But hoop was his first love. He went from going undrafted out of Northwestern to playing overseas. From riding the bench in Summer League to getting a real shot in the G League. Now he’s in his second season as a two-way player for the Warriors.
Spencer’s mission needs no interpretation. The chip on his shoulder is as pronounced as his mustache. Somewhere along the way, his basketball journey convinced him he could play at the highest level. Thus, he’s got a bone to pick. With the defender in front of him. With his two-way contract. With perception.
Stephen Curry’s quad injury created an opportunity for Spencer.
Thursday night in Philadelphia, Jimmy Butler didn’t play, and Draymond Green left early with a foot injury. Spencer found himself with the ball in his hands and rare freedom. He used it to introduce himself.
“I’m that motherf—!” he yelled to the crowd.
Saturday, with the three stars out again, the Warriors leaned in and rested three others. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the kind of long, athletic and young team that troubles Golden State. So with a road game at Chicago on Sunday, the Warriors gave Al Horford, Seth Curry and De’Anthony Melton days off, too. The night belonged to the backups.
Spencer made his first career start and scored a career-high 19 points to go with seven assists — including multiple clutch baskets late. The Warriors beat Cleveland, 99-94, and possibly salvaged their road trip. Maybe saved their season. He no longer needed to introduce himself.
“His coach realized that Pat is that motherf—,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “I think that became clear.”
“We’ve seen the competitiveness,” Kerr added. “We’ve seen what a good player he is in the past couple of years. But he’s really improved his jump shot. I mean, that’s the big thing. … He’s never gonna be Steph, but he’s a threat out there, and that’s what it takes.”
Don’t miss what’s happening here. This isn’t a lacrosse player who summoned a genie and made a wish. Spencer isn’t a gimmick. Along with his skill comes an unmistakable fire. A consuming passion. Borderline unhealthy if it were not working for him like a charm.
“Everyone I know is a competitor, and they have different ways of showing it,” forward Trayce Jackson-Davis said. “I just feel like Pat is probably one of the most emotional, as in showing his emotions and wearing them on his sleeves.”
The Warriors desperately need Spencer’s edge. Expectations hover in the world of the Warriors. Always. Much gets taken for granted. Life in the era of a dynasty can produce entitlement.
Spencer expects nothing but what he takes. He salivates for opportunities. His demeanor gives hunger. And it’s been a stimulant for a roster that wrestles with listlessness.
“Everyone I know is a competitor, and they have different ways of showing it,” forward Trayce Jackson-Davis says of Spencer. “I just feel like Pat is probably one of the most emotional.” (Mitchell Leff / Getty Images)
Because the 29-year-old wants this. Badly enough to swallow his pride in favor of patience. To work on his game until he can’t be denied. It’s a spirit of toughness and grit, forged from a pure love of the game. The locker room loves him for it, and now he’s known by his Philadelphia proclamation.
“Pat is that motherf—,” forward Gui Santos said. “He’s great. It’s great to have a guy like that on the team.”
The hole Spencer fills isn’t just mental. He provides some of what the Warriors’ offensive repertoire lacks.
Spencer is a pick-and-roll maestro. He’s comfortable with the ball. He can make plays coming off a screen, whether finding a teammate or looking for his shot.
But it’s much simpler than that. Spencer, who played the attacker position in lacrosse, isn’t timid about attacking. Opponents pressure the Warriors on the perimeter with no regard for being countered. The time-honored response to pressure is to drive. But Golden State is short on offensive playmakers, especially from way out near the 3-point line.
But Spencer feasts on such defense. He wants the pressure because it opens driving lanes. Kerr feels comfortable running the offense because Spencer will just go, instinctually. He’s fine playing fast, making reads and having options.
You know why? Because he’s a hooper. Spencer has played in countless runs. Enough to become a wizard of sorts. He dominated intramural hoops at Loyola, even though playing during lacrosse season was a no-no. In the offseason, he sharpened his game through high-level pickup games with overseas pros and college stars in Baltimore and around the DMV. He played 56 games in four seasons in the G League. He’s been practicing with Hall of Famers in his three years with the Warriors and an untold number of three-on-three battles after practice.
Now he’s on the big stage. In a big role. Showing the world that he is who he said he is. He doesn’t get here if this is some cute storyline. He doesn’t get here if he’s not determined to the point of delusion.
But after 52 points in three games, nothing is delusional about recognizing what’s evident about Spencer: He is an NBA player who, in college, was elite at lacrosse. If he keeps this up, he’ll never have to declare himself again. People will know Pat Spencer.
Until then, his teammates happily adopted the assignment of introducing him, as guard Moses Moody did while Spencer was being interviewed Saturday night.
“That’s that motherf— you talking to right there.”
