Brooklyn Nets point guard Spencer Dinwiddie is having a break out year while putting the team on his back! When the season started off, Nets fans knew they would be without Kevin Durant for the season and Wilson Chandler till mid December. No one expected Kyrie Irving and Caris Levert to suffer injuries early in the season alongside a Hamstring injury to Rookie Nic Claxton and a season ending injury to David Nwaba who was supplying Vital minutes both defensively and offensively off the bench. Most NBA fans expected the Nets to plummet out of the playoff picture, but Brooklyn has been playing competitive basketball Under the helm of their former Sixth man Spencer Dinwiddie.
Humble Beginnings
Coming out of High school, Spencer Dinwiddie had to choose between Harvard and Colorado for his choice of Colleges. He had the academic ability for Harvard but chose Colorado for a better chance at following his dream of playing in the NBA. As a Freshman, he made the All Freshman team for the PAC 12 along with being the only PAC 12 freshman with a field goal percentage over 40%. He continually improved through his sophomore and Junior year at Colorado. He was quickly gaining traction as a potential Lottery Pick before he suffered a career threatening ACL injury against Washington. Dinwiddie reportedly got in contact with Russ Paine Who Helped Adrian Peterson recover from his ACL injury returning as NFL MVP in 2012. He later Declared for the 2014 NBA draft, renouncing his final year of College Eligibility. Due to concerns about his ACL injury, he fell to the Second round of the 2014 draft being the 38th pick overall by the Detroit Pistons.
Trials and Tribulations
Averaging 4 Points, 3 assists, and a little over 1 rebound per game in the 2014-2015 season for the Detroit pistons, he struggled to find minutes in the 2015-2016 season behind guards like Brandon Jennings, Reggie Jackson, and Kentavious Caldwell Pope. In the summer of 2016, the Detroit Pistons decided to trade Spencer to the Chicago Bulls for Cameron Bairstow. He was cut, then re-signed, then ultimately cut again. Spencer was facing a situation where he was fighting for his Career and Many expected him to fade into Obscurity. Nets General manager Sean Marks still dealing with the Disastrous Outcome of the Fabled Nets Celtics trade of 2013 was desperate to find talent so he took a chance on Spencer and the rest is History. Spencer Improved with his share of minutes increasing but it was a slight improvement. At the start of the 2017-2018 Season, Nets Point Guard Jeremy Lin went down with a season ending Knee injury and Spencer benefited from this tremendously getting his share of the minutes and ultimately finding his place on the roster. Spencer would eventually be invited to All Star weekend in 2018 where he would win the Skills competition. At this point, Spencer was a Solid role player but he was continually improving.
The 2018-2019 Season was a contract Year for Dinwiddie. A few months into the Season, Brooklyn re-signed him to a 3 year 34 Million Dollar contract. He balled out this season Averaging 16.8 points off the bench and was Fringe Candidate for 6th man of the year. Spencer also showed how clutch he could be in crunch time with his biggest heroics being Scoring 8 Pt’s in the final 22 seconds on January 16th against the Rockets Which he ultimately lead the Nets to a victory. Dinwiddie’s contribution helped well with getting the Nets back into the Playoffs, which they would lose to the 76ers in the first round 4-1
Spencers break out Season
Spencer Dinwiddie is currently in the running for an All-Star spot in the East averaging 23 Points per game, 6.3 Assists, and 3 Rebounds. Spencer also set his new career high in points scored in a game with 41 against the Spurs on December 19. Some may say his stats are inflated due to an increase of minutes, but he’s only averaging two and one half minutes more than he did last season as a 6th man. As of last night, Spencer surpassed Vince Carter’s record of most points averaged by a Net through the month of December setting the new record at 27 points averaged. Spencer also became the first Net since Devin Harris to score over 30 points in 3 consecutive games (First Net Player to do so in 11 years). He’s also averaging a career high in free throw attempts per game at over 7 which has him in the top 10 attempted this season. It’s safe to say this Nets roster will stay competitive this year with Dinwiddie’s emergence and the return of Caris Levert and Kyrie Irving. The Nets, however, will be a Major Contender next year due to the return of Kevin Durant and the amount of shooters they’ll be able to have on the floor at one time.
Above The Rim 