Pat Spencer

Patrick Andrew Spencer (born July 4, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Valley Suns of the NBA G League. He played college lacrosse for the Loyola Greyhounds, where he set the NCAA men's lacrosse record for career assists and is considered one of the greatest college lacrosse players of all time. He also played one year of college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats.

High school career Spencer is from Davidsonville, Maryland. Spencer attended Boys' Latin School of Maryland, where he played both lacrosse and basketball. He earned four varsity letters for basketball and lacrosse. He was a US Lacrosse High school All-American, and he played for the Under Armour Underclass All-American Team Baltimore in 2014. He scored 30 goals and had 30 assists as a junior, and 49 goals and 51 assists as a senior. . In basketball, as a senior, he averaged 14.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Prior to his junior year, Spencer grew from 5-foot-6 to 6-foot-2.

College career Lacrosse During Spencer's four years at Loyola, the team compiled a record of 49 wins and 19 losses, with the 2016 squad compiling a 14–4 record and reaching the NCAA Final Four.

Spencer holds the College Lacrosse record for career assists with 231 assists, as well as the Patriot League record for career points with 380. Spencer received the Lt. Raymond Enners Award as the USILA national player of the year and the Jack Turnbull Award as the nation's top attackman in 2019. Spencer also received the Tewaaraton Award, regarded as the Heisman Trophy for NCAA DI lacrosse, as a senior.

As a senior on attack he also ranked second on the all-time points list behind Lyle Thompson. He was a four-time All-American. At Loyola, his head coach was Charley Toomey. In his first two collegiate games he scored eight combined points in wins over Virginia and Johns Hopkins University. In 2016 he took league first-team honoree for rookie-of-the-year trophy. He graduated from Loyola with a Bachelor of Business Finance.

In an interview hosted by Paul Carcaterra, an ESPN lacrosse game analyst and sideline reporter, Carcaterra talked to Pat Spencer about college lacrosse and his background in basketball. Paul asks, "How big of an impact has hoops had on your lacrosse career". Pat responded, "Definitely a big impact, I think any time you play another sport a lot of it translates over". Later in the video, when Paul and Pat were shooting hoops, Spencer added, "Basketball and lacrosse are very similar, in terms of spacing and trying to draw a guy and find your open teammates".

Spencer was selected by the Archers Lacrosse Club as the first overall pick in the 2019 Premier Lacrosse League collegiate draft. He did not dress or practice with the team, opting instead to pursue a collegiate career in basketball upon graduating from Loyola.

Basketball Spencer used his college graduate year eligibility to play basketball at Northwestern University in the 2019–20 season. He averaged 10.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. In eight games, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. In 26 games, he averaged 6.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

Golden State / Santa Cruz Warriors (2022–2026) On July 25, 2022, Spencer signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Golden State Warriors. He was later waived on October 15. He appeared in just nine games for Santa Cruz, averaging 10.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. On February 22, 2024, he signed a two-way contract with Golden State. He made his NBA debut three days later against the Denver Nuggets. He appeared in six games for Golden State to finish the 2023–24 season, averaging 0.7 points, 0.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. On March 4, 2025, his two-way contract with the Warriors was converted into a standard NBA contract. In 47 games for Golden State in 2024–25, he averaged 2.9 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. In early December 2025, he received increased playing time due to injuries to key players, including Stephen Curry. He responded by averaging 15.2 points and 5.4 assists during a five-game span. On December 6, he made his first career NBA start, posting 19 points and seven assists in a 99–94 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Following the game, head coach Steve Kerr stated in response to questions related to his first start that "his coach realized that Pat is that motherfucker", referencing Spencer's own comments made about himself during a game against the Philadelphia 76ers two days earlier. On February 5, 2026, he scored a career-high 20 points in a 101–97 win over the Phoenix Suns. Two days later, Spencer's two-way contract was converted into a standard contract.

Phoenix Suns / Valley Suns (2026–present) On July 4, 2026, Spencer signed a two-way contract with the Phoenix Suns.

Career statistics NBA

Regular season

NBA G League Source

Showcase Cup

Regular season

Playoffs

Exhibition

College

Loyola University Lacrosse Season GP G A Pts PPG 2016 18 37 52 89 4.94 2017 16 28 55 83 5.19 2018 17 35 59 94 5.53 2019 17 49 65 114 (a) 6.71 Totals 61 149 231 (b) 380 (c) 5.18 (a) 8th in Division I single-season points (b) 1st in Division I career assists (c) 4th in Division I career points

Personal life Spencer's younger brother, Cam, played college basketball for the Loyola Greyhounds, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, and the UConn Huskies with whom he won the 2024 national championship. He was drafted with the 53rd pick of the 2024 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons before his rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.