Davidsonville native and Latin Boys graduate Cam Spencer recently signed a four-year, $10.4 million contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.
In the 2024 NBA draft, Spencer was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 53rd overall pick in the first round. He was subsequently traded to the Grizzlies and signed a two-way contract with the Grizzlies.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound guard averaged 4.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 25 games with the Grizzlies last season. This season, he averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 5 games.
Spencer was asked what the extension would mean to him.
“I want to spend my whole career here. They've shown belief in me and I'm going to prove them right every day and keep trying to prove people wrong. That's my thing,” Spencer said Oct. 24 on Glenn Clark Radio. “It would be great to be here for three or four years. I'm super excited to go to war with this organization and we'll leave everything to them.”
Spencer's five-year college career spanned Loyola, Rutgers and the University of Connecticut. He spent two seasons at Loyola along with Grizzlies teammate Santi Aldama, the 30th overall pick in the 2021 draft. Aldama is now in his fifth year in Memphis.
“When we played our last game together at Loyola, I didn't think we were going to play another game or share the floor again, we took two unique paths and they ended up back together, which is really cool,” Spencer said. “Obviously, congratulations to him — he just signed a three-year deal, so we're going to have a lot of years playing together. He's fun to play with. He's a good friend of mine. We were roommates at Loyola. So I can't say enough good things about him, and I'm super excited to at least get to spend a few years with him.”
Last year, Spencer got his first chance to play against his older brother, Pat, in the NBA when the Grizzlies took on the Golden State Warriors in January. Pat, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound Warriors guard, scored 2 points, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 steal, while Cam scored 7 points. The Warriors won 121-113.
“It's a surreal feeling,” Spencer said. “When we first came off the bench together, I guarded him full court and had a weird feeling, obviously I want to beat him, I want to win, but at the same time I'm always rooting for him to succeed. … It was a really cool moment, but we're competitive guys. It's the beginning of our journey and we think we still have a long way to go.”
Spencer’s intensity comes from growing up with brothers Pat and Will, who have the same competitiveness.
“We’re both competitive people at heart, but I started at a young age,” Spencer said. “Pat is four years older than me and I always wanted to beat him, but as a kid, four years is a long time, so there was a lot of losing and a lot of fighting growing up, so I think it's just in our DNA.”
For more on Spencer, listen to the full interview here:
Photo credit: Joe Murphy/NBAE/Memphis Grizzlies