Injuries have opened the door for Northwestern's very own Pat Spencer to star in the NBA.
Northwestern is not a school that's known for producing NBA talent, but a surprising former Wildcat has been making waves at the next level.
The Golden State Warriors are currently the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference at 13-12 so far, as unfortunate injury luck has stunted the team's start to the season. Legendary point guard Stephen Curry has missed nine games due to injury — including the last five — while Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Al Horford have combined to sit for 29.
As the Warriors have struggled to keep pace without their top players, former Northwestern guard Pat Spencer has taken full advantage of his increased minutes and opportunity.
Spencer, who worked his way up from the G League to a full-time contract a season ago, played sparingly to start the year. The 29-year-old averaged 12.7 minutes over 13 October and November games, though they largely came in garbage time.
Since Curry's quad injury has left him sidelined, Spencer has erupted on the offensive end. Across four December games, Spencer has put up 16.0 points, 5.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and a steal per game in 25.3 minutes per outing. The ex-lacrosse star has led his team to a 2-2 record against the Thunder, 76ers, Cavaliers and Bulls while shooting 59.1% from the floor and 75.0% (6-of-8) from three.
Head coach Steve Kerr named Spencer a starter for the Warriors' most recent two games, both of which resulted in wins. Golden State nearly picked up a third win in four games just before, but a last-second shot by V.J. Edgecombe and a subsequent block by Tyrese Maxey handed the Warriors a one-point loss.
The most recent two contests were the first starts of Spencer's career.
Spencer's rise to an NBA rotation player is a unique one. At Loyola University Maryland, Spencer was a four-time All-American lacrosse player. He won the Tewaaraton Award during his senior year, given to the nation's top lacrosse player, and was drafted No. 1 overall in the 2019 Premier Lacrosse League Collegiate draft.
However, Spencer instead chose to pursue a graduate season playing college basketball. He transferred to Northwestern as a 6-foot-3 point guard, despite having not played competitive basketball since high school, and started 29 of 31 games for the 'Cats. While NU went just 8-23, Spencer thrived in his collegiate hoops debut year.
Spencer ranked second on the team in scoring and led the Wildcats with 122 assists. In nearly 30 minutes per night, the converted lacrosse star averaged 10.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
Northwestern's struggles did not doom Spencer's basketball career, though. After going undrafted in the NBA, Spencer played for the Hamburg Towers in Germany and eventually made his way back to the United States. Spencer signed with the Washington Wizards' G League affiliate — the Capital City Go-Go — in 2021 and joined the Santa Cruz Warriors in 2022.
On February 22, 2024, Spencer signed a two-way contract with Golden State. He made his NBA debut three days later and appeared in six games as a 27-year-old rookie.
Spencer's two-way deal was converted into a standard contract a year later. During the Warriors' 2025 playoff series against the Rockets, Spencer went for 11 points in Game 2, 11 points in Game 5 and six points in Game 6 on a combined 13-of-17 (76.5%) shooting.
With Curry now out, Spencer has an even greater opportunity to establish himself as an integral part of the Warriors' rotation this season. His work ethic has not gone unnoticed by Kerr, and even when Kerr's stars return to the lineup, there's a very good chance Spencer will have earned his spot alongside them.