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In today’s edition…

This 5’4”, 120-pound high schooler got cut from the team.

His coach admitted, “It was definitely the wrong call.”

But years later, he did something crazy:

Turning down the #1 overall pick to go pro in an entirely different sport.

Let’s dive in 👇

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Pat Spencer was known as the greatest player in the history of college lacrosse.

Then, he walked away from it all to chase a different dream.

One that few thought he could make a reality.

Spencer’s story starts in Davidsonville, Maryland, where he grew up in a household dominated by basketball. His father, Bruce, and mother, Donna, both played, as did his two brothers, Cam and Will.

Bruce coached his son personally until he was 11 years old, instilling a competitive fire that would stick with Pat throughout his career.

When Spencer got to Boys' Latin School of Maryland and tried out for the JV team as a freshman, he got cut. A year later, he tried out for the varsity lacrosse team as a sophomore, but he didn’t make it.

It was for good reason at the time, as coach Bob Shriver believed that the skinny 5’4”, 120-pound sophomore would be better off playing JV, where he would get more playing time and more possessions with the ball.

Ironically, Shriver wasn’t the only one who felt this was the best move for Pat. Cliff Rees, the Lakers’ varsity basketball coach, felt the same way. 

Looking back years later, Rees didn't sugarcoat it. 

"Oh man, it was definitely the wrong call," the coach said with a laugh.

"The same thing happened to him in lacrosse that year, and me and the lacrosse coach have joked about it for years, like we're definitely the two biggest idiots to coach our sports.”

Considering Spencer’s size at the time, one might be willing to look past the coaches’ lapse in judgment, as he wasn't exactly an imposing figure like many other high school prodigies. But anyone paying close enough attention would've seen what was already there: a kid who simply refused to lose.

As the old saying goes, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

Spencer made both varsity teams during his junior year, by which point he had grown nearly six inches. By the time his high school career was complete, he earned multiple letters in both sports and was named an All-American in lacrosse.

While he’d filled out his teenage frame, the lack of playing for a big-name program and not playing varsity until his junior year left Spencer off the radar of the elite NCAA lacrosse programs.

While the top-tier schools would ultimately lose out, both Spencer and Loyola University Maryland wound up winners.

“You grow up watching the big-time schools like Duke, UNC, or Virginia on TV. As a player and competitor, that’s where you want to play,” Pat said.

“The [recruiting] process was frustrating. You’re thinking you’re better than this kid, or that kid who is going to Duke or wherever, but none of those places have spots open.”

At 6’2” and 190 pounds, Pat became an instant star for the Greyhounds in his freshman season.  Setting a school record with 89 points in 18 games, he was named both the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, the first to accomplish such a feat.

For those unfamiliar with the lacrosse world, what Spencer did over the span of four seasons was nothing short of phenomenal.

He rewrote the college lacrosse record books, setting the Division I career assists mark with 231 helpers and amassing 380 total points, ranking second all-time in NCAA scoring.

He earned four consecutive All-American honors, was a four-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, and capped his senior campaign by winning the Tewaaraton Award – lacrosse's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

“On a weekly basis for 15 weeks, four years in a row, Pat was capturing the minds of young lacrosse players with a creativity, and as we’ve come to know even more acutely, athleticism that nobody else has put on display before or since”, said Terry Foy, CEO of Inside Lacrosse.

In 2019, Pat was selected first overall by the Utah Archers in the inaugural Premier Lacrosse League Draft. As one of, if not the, best players in the country, Spencer had the chance to be the face of a league, similar to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, or LeBron James.

But he turned it down.

"The four years at Loyola were really magical," his mother, Donna, said. "We loved it, he loved it, but it just wasn't his dream."

Over those four summers at Loyola, Spencer hardly, if ever, picked up a lacrosse stick.

Instead, he was honing a different passion, playing pickup basketball.

The whole time he was dominating the lacrosse field, his heart and mind were somewhere else.

Walking away from professional lacrosse as the number one overall pick to pursue an NBA dream, with just an average high school hoops career on your resume, is perhaps one of the biggest gambles in sports history.

While lacrosse contracts aren’t as lucrative as professional basketball, turning down a secure gig to bet on yourself is certainly a risk.

With one year of non-lacrosse NCAA eligibility remaining, Spencer needed a Division I basketball program willing to hand a scholarship to a 22-year-old with zero college basketball experience.

Enter Chris Collins, coach of the Northwestern Wildcats.

A longtime friend had vouched for Spencer, and Collins trusted his word and his personal instincts. The coach didn’t watch a single minute of film before inviting Spencer to Evanston.

Stats and highlights would not show the heart and grit that Spencer possessed.  

"When you're the best in the world at something, whatever that is, there's a greatness to that, and Pat carries some of that," Collins said.

"I just felt, even if he wasn't a great basketball player, some of his qualities would rub off on our younger guys."

What Collins couldn't have anticipated was just how quickly Spencer would make himself at home. During that first visit, he told the coach his plan wasn't just to play college ball.

He wanted the NBA.

Pat arrived in Evanston that summer and immediately drove everyone nuts.

The early weeks of training were monotonous yet familiar with shell drills, wind sprints, and walking through the system. Thankfully, the similarities between lacrosse and basketball, both skills and language that translate, made the transition somewhat easier.

When the games finally started – for a guy who hadn’t played competitive basketball since high school – Spencer more than held his own. 

He started 29 of the 31 games he played, averaging 10.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in the Big Ten, traditionally one of the toughest conferences in college basketball.

Unfortunately, the Wildcats struggled, which was new to Spencer, posting an 8-23 record in a COVID-impacted season. 

With his college career at an end, Spencer put his name in the 2020 NBA Draft pool, only to go unselected.

While the dream of playing in the NBA had hit a roadblock, playing professional basketball was still an option, just by different means. 

Finishing his studies in the summer, Pat signed with the Hamburg Towers in Germany, played a handful of games, and found himself back in the United States, grinding with a private trainer, betting on himself with no safety net and no guarantee of anything.

In 2021, the G League offered Spencer his first step towards the NBA, starting with the Capital City Go-Go, then with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Golden State's affiliate.

For nearly three years, Spencer spent time grinding out practices and games in gyms with minimal fan support and for contracts that were on par with what he would have been earning had he continued playing professional lacrosse.

Then, in February 2024, the Golden State Warriors signed Spencer to a two-way contract.

Then 27 years old and five years since turning down the number one pick in the Premier Lacrosse League Draft, Pat Spencer was in the NBA, making his debut against the Denver Nuggets.

He wore the number 61 on his jersey, not for any other reason than a reminder of how many players were selected over him in the 2020 NBA Draft.

In six games, Pat played 27 minutes, recording 4 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.

While the numbers were far from eye-popping, they were still legitimate NBA stats. Suiting up for 39 games during the 2024-25 season, he found himself earning a few more minutes and touches, making his presence on the court a bit more than just garbage time.

On December 6th, 2025, Pat made his first career start, playing 29 minutes, recording 19 points and seven assists in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr didn't need much convincing at that point.

“It's just fun watching a guy who has had to fight for everything finally get his moment and not only seize it but grab it by the neck,” Kerr said.

“This guy is a competitor. He loves the competition, he loves to play, [and] his teammates love playing with him. It's beautiful to watch.”

Even Steph Curry, a two-time MVP who has seen everything, took a moment to acknowledge what Spencer had pulled off.

“He's a dog,” Curry said.

“Find me anybody else who's got the self-confidence to do what he's done.”

In the 2025-26 season, Pat found himself stepping into Curry’s starting role for fourteen games while the Warriors star was sidelined with injuries. While nobody will confuse the two Warriors guards, he filled the spot admirably, posting a career high in numbers across the board while justifying the increased support from the Golden State faithful.

The Bay Area is a long way from Maryland, and the NBA is even further from the college lacrosse, but it seems like nobody told Spencer this.

Despite the distance, both literally and figuratively, nothing seemed to faze a player who was cut by his varsity coaches, ignored by blue-blood programs, and skipped over by every NBA team – some more than once.

“I stay in the moment,” Pat said.

“I haven't had a chance to really reflect on everything yet. Right now, I'm just in the grind, enjoying the journey every single day. I'll wait 'til I hang it up to do that.”

🐶

Today’s story was written by our friend in the north, Steve Lee.

If you liked this one and know someone else who might find it inspiring, please share it and encourage them to subscribe:

And remember, there are 300+ underdog stories over on my website, Joker Mag. Here are two you might’ve missed:

Ok, I need some new story suggestions.

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It can be super obvious or completely out of the box. I’m open to anything!

Til next time,
Tyler

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