Pat Spencer has been with the Golden State Warriors organization for a few years now, but it wasn't until last week that he earned a standard NBA deal, allowing him to continue to play for the team after hitting the 50-game active mark on his two-way contract. He's scored double-digits in the past four games he's played, finishing with 17 in Monday's win over the Grizzlies. Part of his recent rise doesn't sit right with fans, though, and it has nothing to do with him.
Against Memphis, the 29-year-old guard started, playing a team-high 32 minutes, as did Brandin Podziemski, but he came off the bench. Spencer is averaging 29.5 minutes in the four games he's played this month, as Steph Curry hasn't played this month due to a knee injury that will keep him out of the All-Star Game.
Having Spencer to turn to, especially amid the team's injuries, is nice, but the fact that he is averaging nearly 30 minutes per game so far this month isn't reassuring for the team's young guards.
Podziemski is averaging 25.8 minutes per game, and Will Richards is averaging 16.5 minutes. Yes, the latter is just a rookie who was a second-round pick, but keep in mind that Spencer averaged only 6.4 minutes per game last season. Spencer didn't play in his first NBA game with the Warriors until the 2023-24 season, when he averaged 4.3 minutes in just six contests.
Pat Spencer's rise has been great, yet concerning, for Warriors
Golden State has a 2-2 record so far this month, and both wins wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Spencer. As mentioned, he had 17 in a one-point win on Monday, and in last Thursday's four-point win over Phoenix, he had a season-high 20 points in 32 minutes. In that same game, Podziemski had zero points (0-of-3) in 12 minutes. Richards had seven (2-of-6) in 27 minutes.
Spencer even outscored Moses Moody, who had six points on 2-of-7 shooting in 27 minutes. To be fair, though, that was the first time in 12 games that the 23-year-old hadn't scored in double digits. This isn't meant to be a slight against Moody, but it helps put Spencer's role into perspective.
His unconventional journey to the NBA is special and a testament to how hard he's worked. It's impossible not to root for Spencer, even if you're not a Warriors fan. But he isn't supposed to be outshining the team's young guards, particularly Podziemski, the No. 19 pick in the 2023 draft.
Golden State will continue to rely on Spencer, at least until Curry returns (and should do so even after that). He's on too hot a run to ignore. Let's see how long it will go on. We're not going to doubt him, just the front office.