Former Northwestern Star Pat Spencer Among NBA’s Elite in One Category

The Golden State Warriors guard has taken advantage of his opportunity.

Apr 23, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Pat Spencer (61) drives with the ball as Houston Rockets center Steven Adams (12) defends during game two of the first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Golden State Warriors guard Pat Spencer averaged just 6.4 minutes in 39 games during the regular season, but has made his playing time count so far in the playoffs.

Spencer, who spent one graduate season at Northwestern in 2019-20, has earned his first postseason professional action in the Warriors' first round series against the Houston Rockets. He has taken on an increased role in the playoffs, and the rate Spencer has scored at through six games ranks among the NBA's best.

Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver's Nikola Jokic had MVP-caliber offensive seasons, while players like Boston's Jayson Tatum, Los Angeles' LeBron James, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell and New York's Jalen Brunson will all likely end up on All-NBA teams. But in terms of points per minute in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, Spencer leads each of them, trailing only Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Spencer has scored 22 points in just 26 minutes of play, giving him a points per minute rate of 0.85. He's also done so on spectacular efficiency, shooting 71.4% (10-of-14) from the field and knocking down one of his two three-point attempts.

Most points per minute this playoffs (min 20 MIN):

.88 — Giannis
.85 — Pat Spencer
.80 — Tatum
.79 — Shai
.79 — Brunson
.77 — Mitchell

Elite company. pic.twitter.com/avY9LDVzII

— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 2, 2025

While the numbers may be misleading, as Spencer's 26 minutes played pales in comparison to Antetokounmpo's 188, Gilgeous-Alexander's 139 and Jokic's 248, it's still impressive how well Spencer has shot the ball in his first career playoff action. Just six years ago, Spencer was competing in collegiate lacrosse before deciding he wanted to play basketball at Northwestern.

Spencer's 11 points in Golden State's Game 2 and Game 5 ranks as the fifth-highest NBA Playoff career-high for a Northwestern graduate. Willie Jones, who scored 27 points with the Pistons in 1962, has the record among Wildcat alumni.