Pat Spencer has been a surprise breakout star for the Golden State Warriors this season. His fire and tenacity on the court is to be admired, but that same fire is there during practice as well where he is not afraid to go toe-to-toe with Draymond Green.
Spencer appeared on the Warriors Plus Minus podcast recently with Marcus Thompson III and revealed how his spirit and fire comes out in practice against Golden State's seasoned veterans.
“I mean, if Dray and I are matching up, we tend to go at each other pretty good because I know I can ignite a fire there. Buddy's always talking, I love competing with and against Buddy. Everybody, I mean, I love lacing up with or against Steph just because of who he is competitively," Spencer said.
Pat Spencer's fiery play for Warriors begins on the practice court
Spencer's comments coincide with what Stephen Curry said recently regarding the 29-year-old who has thrived over the past four games as the 2x MVP has been sidelined by a quad injury.
"I remember the first day I was playing pickup with him, he was talking trash to me. Like three years ago, right before training camp. So it’s nothing new, it’s just great for the world to see it," Curry said.
It's not a shock that Spencer is willing to go toe-to-toe with just about anyone. He will trash talk the greatest shooter of all time even as a fringe roster player at best at that point, but it may be that same confidence and almost irrational belief that now has him in his current position.
"Now we're wired the same and I'm going to give it right back," Spencer said of his time against Green in practice. "So there's a mutual respect or at least on my end, there's a respect there for what he's done, but he knows damn well that when we lace him up, all that's off.”
It would be fun to watch Green and Spencer go at it during practice. The two are both ultimate competitors and are not afraid to be brash and arrogant on the floor, meaning they must have had some good battles over recent years.
Spencer's rise has been surprising to many on the outside, but it seems that he's always had this belief within himself. That may be surprising considering he is a two-way player who was a star at a different sport in college, yet pro athletes can thrive off of irrational confidence.
It's interesting to compare Spencer and his popularity to another Warriors guard in Brandin Podziemski. The latter is often brash and confident himself, yet that typically comes off as more polarizing among the fanbase.
A big part of this has to do with expectations. Podziemski is a young player who was seen as someone who would be a regular starter this season and who was expected to take that next step.
In contrast, Spencer is 29-years-old and didn't have a high profile entering this season, allowing for some potential cockiness to fly under the radar. Everyone also loves a good underdog story where an unheralded player arrives on the big stage and starts playing great seemingly out of nowhere.
We got a taste of Spencer's swagger and belief last season in the playoffs when he went face-to-face and even head-butted Houston Rockets star Alperun Sengun. The back-and-forth in that series meant many Golden State players may have wanted to do a similar thing, yet it was Spencer who was actually willing to cross the line in that scenario.
Spencer thinking highly of himself isn't a new development. So long as he continues to back it up with his play on the court, that brashness will be endearing to Warriors fans. Yet if he starts to struggle, that confidence may not be so celebrated.