The Golden State Warriors are limping towards the end of what has been a very trying season. Arguably one of the best stories from the season has been the emergence of point guard Pat Spencer, but by the end of the campaign he's become somewhat of an afterthought.
There was a time this season when Spencer was the most exciting story on this Warriors team. He was having big games and making big shots, pounding his chest and shouting obscenities in the middle of the court in Philadelphia.
What made it all the more remarkable was how unlikely it was. Spencer was an unheralded two-way player prior to this season who many fans probably thought would be let go at some point.
Pat Spencer has become something of an afterthought for the Warriors
Instead, he played well enough to get his contract converted from a two-way into a standard contract. It was well-deserved, but since then Spencer has struggled a bit more compared to his form earlier in the season.
He's still had to play prominent minutes with Stephen Curry out since late January with a knee injury, yet he's no longer starting and his playing time isn't as high as what it's been throughout other stretches.
Perhaps his level of play simply wasn't sustainable, but it still would have been a really magical story to see him blossom into a regular NBA starter out of nowhere. To be clear, it's not as if he's completely fallen off the map, with Spencer still playing and performing to a reasonable level, but just not at the same standard as when he broke out in early December.
Pat Spencer has still had a succesful season for the Warriors
By every measure this season has ben a success for Spencer. He's averaging roughly seven points per game after averaging just 2.5 a year ago. His playing time has almost tripled as he's averaging nearly 18 minutes per game this season, up from roughly six minutes during last campaign.
The team's injuries have obviously been a huge reason to do with that, but he wouldn't still be playing if he wasn't doing some things right. He had eight assists in the team's most recent game against the Denver Nuggets and scored seven points, though he missed all four three-point attempts. His three-point shooting has really fallen off from when he was at his hottest, helping to explain the dip in production.
The Warriors are now left with a tough decision on Spencer this offseason. No matter if he stays with Golden State or gets an opportunity with another team, he's still had a memorable season and has made a lot of fans in the Bay Area.