How a 5’4″, 120-pound sophomore who got cut from two teams became an NBA starter at 29
If you told a high school sophomore standing 5-4 and weighing 120 pounds that he’d get cut from both his basketball AND lacrosse teams, become one of the greatest college lacrosse players of all time, then STILL make it to the NBA and drop 19 points in his first career start as a 29-year-old – they’d probably think you were crazy.
But that’s exactly what Pat Spencer did.
And in December 2025, after hitting clutch shots to upset the Cleveland Cavaliers in his first NBA start, he let everyone know exactly who he is.
The Double Cut: Where Most Players Give Up
Boys’ Latin School in Baltimore, sophomore year. Pat Spencer gets cut from the varsity basketball team. Then the lacrosse team cuts him too.
“We had a really good, senior-heavy team that won 30 games,” remembers Cliff Rees, his basketball coach at the time. “I wanted him to be in a situation where he was the primary ball handler, where he could do some of everything.”
Translation: the kid was too small, too raw. Put him on JV where he could develop without getting crushed.
Rees and the lacrosse coach joke about it now – “we’re definitely the two biggest idiots to coach our sports.” But back then? It made sense. Spencer was a 5-4, 120-pound sophomore trying to compete against grown men.
Most kids would’ve quit. Found something else. Convinced themselves they weren’t good enough.
Spencer used it as fuel.
The Transformation: Proving the Doubters Wrong
By his junior year, Spencer proved the doubters wrong. Averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds. Senior year? 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists. All-conference honors. Led his team to their first state title in 25 years.
Former teammate Jaylin Andrews remembers the moment he knew Spencer was different: “I was at a summer league game, and he came down and did a crazy windmill with ease. I knew right then that he was different.”
But as good as Spencer was at basketball, he was even better at lacrosse. And when college came calling, he had to make a choice.
The Lacrosse Legend: Taking the Unconventional Path
Spencer chose lacrosse at Loyola Maryland. And he absolutely dominated.
Four years. Two Tewaaraton Awards (the Heisman Trophy of lacrosse). National champion. The all-time NCAA Division I record holder for career assists with 231. One of the greatest college lacrosse players ever.
The Premier Lacrosse League drafted him first overall in 2019.
The dream lacrosse career was right there, gift-wrapped and ready to go.
But Spencer had unfinished business with basketball.
The Return: When Everyone Said It Was Too Late
At 23 years old – after four years of elite college lacrosse, after becoming a national champion, after setting records that still stand – Pat Spencer enrolled at Northwestern to play basketball.
Not lacrosse. Basketball.
Think about how wild that is. Most guys his age were already grinding in the G-League or overseas trying to catch a break. Spencer was starting over as a college basketball player, competing against 18-year-olds who’d been in elite AAU programs while he was becoming a lacrosse legend.
“Pat is a basketball player who just happened to be good at lacrosse,” Andrews said.
Northwestern coach Chris Collins was impressed by his workout. Spencer played in 31 games, started 29, and averaged 10.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in Big Ten basketball – one of the toughest conferences in the country.
Then COVID hit. His college career ended abruptly. Most people would’ve called it there.
Spencer kept going.
The Grind: Hip Surgery, Wrist Surgery, and Rejection
Germany. G-League. Training camps. Two major surgeries – hip and wrist – that he’d never needed in all his years of sports. The first time in his life he couldn’t just play through an injury.
He recovered. Kept grinding with the Santa Cruz Warriors. Put up numbers. But when Golden State told him he wouldn’t make the NBA roster or even get a two-way contract?
He didn’t quit.
He went back to Santa Cruz. Averaged 12.5 points, 3.8 assists, 5.4 rebounds, shooting nearly 38% from three.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr started paying attention.
The Dream Realized: Making the NBA at 27
February 22, 2024. Golden State signed Pat Spencer to a two-way contract. He was 27 years old.
Three days later, he made his NBA debut against the Denver Nuggets.
The kid who got cut from both teams as a 5-4, 120-pound sophomore. The kid who chose lacrosse over basketball. The kid who came back to basketball at 23 when everyone said it was too late.
He made it.
“I’m That Motherf***er”: Building His Legacy
But making it to the NBA? That was just the beginning.
December 2025. The Warriors are short-handed – no Steph Curry, no Draymond Green, traveling to face the Cavaliers in Cleveland. Steve Kerr needs someone to start. Someone who won’t fold under pressure.
He calls Pat Spencer’s number for his first career start.
Spencer drops 19 points. Hits back-to-back clutch threes in the fourth quarter. Drains the two free throws that seal the 99-94 upset. Waves goodbye to the Cleveland crowd after the first free throw puts the Warriors up four with 4.1 seconds left.
Two nights earlier in Philadelphia, after hitting a clutch three with just over a minute left, Spencer had yelled “I’m that motherf***er!” twice to the crowd as the Sixers called timeout. It went viral.
After the Cleveland win, Warriors coach Steve Kerr referenced it: “His coach realized that Pat is that motherf—er. That became clear.”
“This guy is a competitor,” Kerr continued. “It’s fun to watch a guy who has had to fight for everything finally get his moment and not only seize it but grab it by the neck.”
Think about what Spencer is building here. He’s not just an NBA player now – he’s a guy his coach trusts in the biggest moments. He’s earned the respect of a championship organization. He’s proving night after night that the journey wasn’t just about making it, but about what you do once you’re there.
His legacy isn’t finished. It’s being written in real-time. Every game. Every clutch shot. Every moment where he refuses to back down.
What This Means For Your Basketball Journey
Listen carefully: Your path will not look like anyone else’s.
Pat Spencer’s path definitely didn’t. He got cut. Twice. He took five years away from basketball to dominate a completely different sport. He came back when people said he was too old. He faced injuries. He got rejected by the team that eventually signed him.
And he made it anyway.
But here’s the thing – making it was just step one. Building a legacy? That’s the work that never stops.
Your legacy isn’t built when you make the team, get the scholarship, or sign the contract. Your legacy is built in how you respond when you’re called on. In the moments when everyone’s watching. In whether you back down or step up.
Spencer could’ve been satisfied just making an NBA roster. He could’ve been a warm body on the bench collecting checks. Instead, he’s earning Steve Kerr’s trust in must-win games. He’s hitting clutch shots in hostile arenas. He’s waving goodbye to opposing crowds because he knows he just delivered.
That’s legacy.
How to Build Your Basketball Legacy
You’re writing your story right now. Every rep in the gym. Every extra set of free throws. Every time you choose to work when no one’s watching.
Your legacy isn’t about where you start – it’s about where you refuse to stop climbing.
Pat Spencer was 5-4 and got cut from two teams. Now he’s starting NBA games and hitting game-winning free throws in front of thousands.
Not because the path was easy. Not because he had some guaranteed route. But because he never stopped believing in himself when it mattered most, and he never stopped working to prove he belonged.
Your timeline doesn’t have to match anyone else’s timeline. Your obstacles are yours to overcome. Your doubters are yours to prove wrong.
Maybe you’re small. Maybe you’re late bloomer. Maybe you took time away from basketball. Maybe you’re in a situation that seems impossible right now.
Pat Spencer’s story says: it doesn’t matter where you start. It matters that you keep building.
The Bottom Line: Never Give Up on Your Dreams
“If someone were to tell me his story about someone else, I wouldn’t believe it,” says Cliff Rees, the coach who cut him. “But I’m going to say I’m not surprised that he’s made it in the NBA because it’s Pat. Anyone who knows him knows this is just the beginning.”
Even his coach who cut him believes in him now. Because Spencer showed him – showed everyone – what happens when you refuse to accept other people’s limitations on your life.
And he’s still showing up. Still competing. Still building his legacy brick by brick, game by game, clutch moment by clutch moment.
You never know where the path leads. But you have to walk it all the way through. And when you get your moment? You better be ready to grab it by the neck.
Stay in the lab. Trust your journey. Keep fighting to be the best YOU can be.
Because Pat Spencer is proof: it’s never too late, it’s never too hard, and your legacy is something you build – not something you’re given.
Now go build yours.
