The Los Angeles Lakers have officially added guard Spencer Dinwiddie to their roster. He was previously traded from Brooklyn to Toronto and later waived by the Raptors after the trade deadline.
The Lakers might not have been able to secure a trade that met their demands before the deadline, but they were clever enough to make the most of the buyout market afterward.
Dinwiddie is among the two players on the Nets who had personal connections with Kobe Bryant. He has long admired the Lakers legend and is now part of the same team.
How Kobe Bryant’s Legacy Will Motivate Lakers’ Spencer Dinwiddie
Was Dinwiddie the Perfect Choice?
The Lakers have landed one of the top offensive talents up for grabs. Dinwiddie played in all 48 games for the Nets this season and averaged 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 6.0 assists in 30.7 minutes.
The Lakers also have top players like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and D’Angelo Russell, who consistently score high points each game. Even so, the team still hasn’t performed as well offensively as expected. Their offensive performance has been unstable recently, which placed them at 20th in the league. The team has also struggled with injuries.
Dinwiddie was a top pick for several contending teams vying for playoff spots as they tried to improve their rosters during the buyout market period. His final game with the Nets was against his prior team, the Dallas Mavericks. Though he had a slight dip in his performance this season, he has proven he can bring it on the offensive end.
James and Davis are both sharp at creating scoring opportunities for their teammates. Therefore, Dinwiddie could find even more avenues to dish out assists and make plays happen. He is slick at setting up plays and leading the offense.
He also maintains reasonable ball control and minimizes errors leading to turnovers. James also told ESPN that adding Dinwiddie to the team would bring more playmaking, ball-handling, and veteran experience.
The Black Mamba Shaped Dinwiddie Into Who He Is Today
The Lakers were all about getting Dinwiddie as soon as they could after he became available in the buyout market. He also has a soft spot for the team because of his close connection with Bryant. It has been four years since Dinwiddie said that one of his proudest moments in his entire NBA career was knowing the Black Mamba.
In 2020, Dinwiddie emotionally recounted his interactions with Bryant, revealing how his words made him feel recognized as a basketball player. It happened when Bryant had attended a game where Dinwiddie went all out against the Atlanta Hawks.
Bryant attended that night with his daughter Gianna. Dinwiddie scored 39 points while securing six rebounds and chipping in six assists. This led Bryant to go up to him after the game and say he was “playing like an All-Star.” Even during his locker room interview, Dinwiddie was still astonished.
They had previously shared “pleasantries and text messages” together before the night game. He even labeled it “a little bit exaggerated,” but it left a mark on him when Bryant likely looked at him for the first time as “the basketball player Spencer.”
Dinwiddie said, “For him to tell me that in his book I’m an All-Star…for him to say that I didn’t need to be selected anymore because I was an All-Star.”
Besides being unable to hold back his tears, he never realized that just that one interaction was enough to mold him into the player he is today.
The Last Word
When Dinwiddie was waived, the Mavericks and Lakers both wanted him. It didn’t take him that long to decide. He chose to play for the Lakers and continue embodying the lesson of hard work, the Mamba Mentality that he learned years ago, which is the reason for who he is today.
