The Golden State Warriors haven’t had too much success since losing Stephen Curry to a calf injury last week. They’ve now lost three of their last four games, including the loss to Houston in which Curry left late with the injury. 

Thursday’s loss to the 76ers was especially heartbreaking, as it appeared that the shorthanded Warriors were going to steal a win in Philadelphia with Curry and Jimmy Butler out from the start and Draymond Green lost for the game with a foot injury suffered in the first half. 

If you were wondering how the Warrors managed to stay competitive without their three core players down the stretch Thursday, the short answer is Pat Spencer. Spencer, who is on a two-way contract and currently on the NBA roster to provide reinforcements at guard, led the team with 16 points on an efficient 5-of-8 from the field, making 2-of-3 from 3-point range

Not to mention. Spencer’s performance was merely an encore from his outing against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. In another hard-fought loss, Spencer tallied 17 points and dished out six assists to keep the depleted Warriors within striking distance of a Thunder team that appears to have a legitimate chance to contend with Golden State’s own 73-win record. 

While Spencer’s status as a two-way player and the Warriors’ lack of roster spots when Curry returns means he may not be be a full-timer in the NBA the rest of the season, Kerr complimented Spencer’s presence on the team and insisted that the team would benefit from finding a way to keep him on the roster and should find a way to do so. 

“It would be great to find a way to get him on the roster, because he's he's kind of the perfect guy to have,” Kerr said. “As a backup, he can win you games like he almost did tonight. But if he doesn't play, he brings the same energy, the same attitude next game. It would be great if we could find a way, but it's a little tricky.”

Spencer was notably a Division I lacrosse star at Loyola University in Maryland, but used his final year of collegiate athletic eligibility as a graduate student to play basketball at Northwestern. 

Spencer was selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 PLL Draft but chose to give up his lacrosse career to pruse basketball, which was a risky but probably an ultimately rewarding choice.