The Come Up: Spencer Dinwiddie

By Zyria Jessie

Spencer Gray Dinwiddie was born on April 6,1993 in Los Angeles, California. Spencer always had a love for basketball, and he considered himself to be a basketball phenomenon. He got his work ethic and dedication from his parents, Malcolm and Stephanie Dinwiddie. His father Malcolm was a real estate agent and his mother Stephanie received her Ph.D. from USC and owned a pre-school. 

Spencer attended William Howard Taft High School, which was also the school of well-known rappers Ice Cube and Eazy-E. While Spencer attended William Howard Taft, he received the John R. Wooden California High School Player of the Year award and led his team to a city championship in 2011 as the starting point guard. Spencer got multiple scholarship offers from many colleges around the country and even received an offer from Harvard University after scoring a 1400 on his SATs. Even though Harvard was the school Spencer’s parents preferred for him, he chose the University of Colorado in order to focus on basketball. 

(Elaine Thompson/AP)

While at the University of Colorado, Spencer broke the school’s record for most points scored without missing a single shot and helped bring his school to their first NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament in over a decade. Spencer was the leading scorer for the University of Colorado and was even named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team and the All-Pac-12 First Team. After doing phenomenal in his Freshman and Sophomore seasons, disaster ended up striking in Spencer’s Junior year. Spencer had a gruesome ACL injury and went from being a projected first-round pick in the 2014 NBA draft to actually being selected 38th overall in the second round by the Detroit Pistons. 

(Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)

After being selected by the Pistons, Spencer was signed to a three-year deal. Because the Pistons were loaded with point guards, it was hard for Spencer to get playing time and show off his skills. Spencer averaged 4.3 pts, 30.2% FG, and 18.5% 3PT in his debut season. Due to his poor performance, he was sent to the Detroit Pistons’ G League team, the Grand Rapids Drive, multiple times. After Spencer’s continuous struggles, he was traded to the Bulls in 2016. Spencer was unfortunately waived by the Bulls after the preseason and was picked up by their G league team, the Windy City Bulls. Spencer performed well in the nine games he played and averaged 19.4 pts, 8.1 asts, and 3.7 rebs. The Brooklyn Nets were impressed by Spencer’s play and signed him on December 6, 2016. 

(Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke)

During the 2017-2018 NBA season, Spencer played really well with the Nets and even became the starting point guard due to Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell’s injuries. He continued improving each season and even got invited to the NBA’s 2018 All-Star game where he ended up being the 2018 Skills Challenge Champion during All-Star weekend. In the following season, Spencer signed a three-year $34 million contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets. Spencer continued to be a key role player for the Nets and even stepped up when Kyrie Irving was out with a season-ending injury in the 2019-2020 season. 

Though many spectators were surprised by Spencer’s journey from the G League, it was something that was inevitable for him because of all the hard work he put in. He was constantly on non-guaranteed contracts, so he constantly had to prove himself and could never be too comfortable. It’s truly astonishing to recognize that he not only bounced back from an ACL injury, but he also bounced back from the G League and became an explosive NBA player.

Zyria is a sports writer for La Tonique Media.