Spencer Dinwiddie getting more comfortable, finding his role on Lakers

For a player of Spencer Dinwiddie’s caliber, the start of his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers didn't go according to plan. Through his first 16 games with Los Angeles, Dinwiddie struggled to make an impact offensively, averaging only 5 points on 35% shooting.

However, that's changed as of late. On Sunday night, the 6-foot-5 guard scored a Lakers career-high 26 points against the Indiana Pacers in a 150-145 win at the Crypto.com Arena.

Dinwiddie’s scoring outburst came as he started the game for D’Angelo Russell, who was ruled out with a non-COVID illness. Dinwiddie usually mans the second unit as a backup to Russell, handling the Lakers’ offense and providing spot-up-shooting alongside superstar LeBron James.

In Wednesday's win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Dinwiddie had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 threes, while shooting 57.1% from the field and 75% from three-point range. The Lakers have now won five-straight games, and Dinwiddie is looking more and more comfortable on his new team.

“I think, in general, being in the league in 10 years – in my position being a second-round pick –  having a variety of different roles, at any given time I’d play anywhere from 1 through 15. Like, I’ve really been a primary guy on the floor, all the way down to the towel-waving guy at the end of the bench that really wasn’t gonna play – I’ve played all of those,” Dinwiddie said when asked about finding a role with the team. “May it be sixth man, eighth man, second or third man – all that stuff.”

The 6-foot-5 combo guard has had stops with different teams ever since being drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the second round in 2014. Dinwiddie had his best years with the Brooklyn Nets where he averaged a career-best season of 20.4 points per game. Dinwiddie then went to the Dallas Mavericks, forming a backcourt tandem with Luka Doncic, and then reunited with Brooklyn as a backup point guard.

Now, with Dinwiddie back in his home state of California and playing for the Lakers alongside James, Russell, superstar big man Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves, he shared the key to fitting in with a star-studded cast like this as they fight for a playoff spot in the loaded Western Conference.

“It’s about reading the room and understanding you’re a part of something bigger,” Dinwiddie said. “That’s really it. Taking every day as it comes, knowing who’s going to be out, and knowing that there’s going to be spots to be aggressive – just try to settle to that moment and be consistent with my workout and my routine.”