Spencer Dinwiddie went from making the Brooklyn Nets a title contender in his first five-season stint to having one of the worst seasons of his career with them before the trade deadline. Owing to his substantial dip in offensive input, the Nets traded him to the Toronto Raptors, who agreed to buy him out, allowing him to sign with any team. As soon as the 30-year-old entered the buyout market, the Lakers were quick to snag his services. However, while Dinwiddie is used to having the ball in his hands, here in LA, he has been reduced to a role player on the team.

Talking about embracing role-player duties in LA, Dinwiddie told Jovan Buha of The Athletic, “Obviously, the way sh*t shook out in Brooklyn kind of put me more so in this box than my game being in that box. It’s not like I’m 35 or coming off injury or washed or anything. … Like, I’m one of them guys. Let’s not get it twisted. But I also understand being a part of a bigger unit.”

These “washed” allegations stemmed from Dinwiddie’s shooting woes following him to LA. Across 14 games with the team, he is averaging 4.7 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on a league-worst 36.1% from the field and 32.4% from beyond the arc, despite getting 23.4 minutes of playing time per game. Moreover, he is only making 4.4 shot attempts per game, a stark departure from his usual numbers. However, despite a significant drop in his usage rate, Dinwiddie continues to impact the team in various ways.

Spencer Dinwiddie’s impact on the team

With Gabe Vincent out due to arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, Dinwiddie filled the pressing need for a veteran backcourt scoring option. The Lakers, who ranked 15th in three-point percentage before the deadline, are now trailing only the Boston Celtics (42.2 percent) in terms of efficiency in the NBA. Moreover, despite the underwhelming stats, Dinwiddie boasts a team-leading plus-minus of plus-3.0.

Spencer Dinwiddie has also been making it count with his playmaking and defensive efforts in the clutch. The most recent example of his brilliant defensive play came during the Lakers’ thrilling victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in LeBron James’ absence. Apart from D’Angelo Russell’s 44-point performance, it was Dinwiddie’s crucial block on Damian Lillard with 5.9 seconds left in the fourth quarter that sealed the narrow 123-122 victory for the Lakers.

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