Dink Pate

Sasha "Dink" Pate (born March 10, 2006) is an American professional basketball player for the Providence Friars of the Big East Conference. He became the youngest professional basketball player in U.S. history after joining the NBA G League Ignite.

Early life and high school career A native of Dallas, Texas, Pate played primarily point guard at L. G. Pinkston High School in West Dallas. In his last season, he averaged 20.3 points and was the named the 2022–2023 District 13-4A Most Valuable Player. He was also named to the 2022–2023 University Interscholastic League Boys 4A All-Region Team and All-State Team.

Wanting to focus full time on basketball, Pate graduated from Pinkston a year early and continued his education by enrolling in online classes created by the NBA G League at Arizona State. He would have enrolled at Alabama or Arkansas had he not joined Ignite.

Professional career On April 17, 2023, Pate signed a two-year contract with the NBA G League Ignite. By joining Ignite, he became the youngest known professional basketball player in U.S. history, surpassing Scoot Henderson by five weeks. On February 27, 2024, Pate scored a career-high 16 points along with nine assists against the Texas Legends.

After the shutting down of the NBA G League Ignite on March 28, 2024, Pate was suggested to have had a waiver request to enter the 2024 NBA draft due to the team's closure and having turned 18 during the season, but he was denied entry to the draft that year.

On July 3, 2024, Pate signed with the Mexico City Capitanes.

Pate entered the 2025 NBA draft, but went undrafted and signed with the New York Knicks on June 27, 2025.

Career statistics

NBA G League