Video screens announced his arrival and fans were lined up ready and waiting for Spencer Dinwiddie on the second floor of the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue Tuesday afternoon.
The Brooklyn Nets point guard set up at a table posted before a corner window, with a torso mannequin featuring his jersey on one side of the table and his trophy from winning the Skills Competition at this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend on the other.
After about a half hour of signing autographs and posing for pictures, Dinwiddie spent some time playing pop-a-shot with the fans.
“Their energy is great,” said Dinwiddie. “They feed our whole organization, not just Brooklyn organization, but NBA as a whole. We’re built off the fans, so we appreciate all that love.”
It’s been an interesting time for Dinwiddie, who a year ago – heck, six months ago – would not have been a likely candidate for an appearance at the league’s flagship store. Or to do the quick SiriusXM radio hit he did before settling in at the signing table.
But opportunity knocked, Dinwiddie answered – and rushed on through. After injuries to Jeremy Lin and D’Angelo Russell, Dinwiddie emerged as one of the stories of the NBA season, earning the attention with his play.
His single-game scoring high kept on ticking upward, peaking with a 31-point game against the Toronto Raptors in January in which Dinwiddie scored a sensational 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. That was just one sample of the crunch-time heroics Dinwiddie delivered that month.
He’s spent much of the season leading the NBA in assist to turnover ratio and is still No. 3 in the league. Over the last two months, his assist rate has continued to race upward. He’s averaging 6.8 per game, good for ninth in the league, after averaging 7.8 per game since Feb. 1.
When he went to Los Angeles and claimed a slice of the All-Star Weekend spotlight, that took the story up another level.
“I think you just balance it,” said Dinwiddie of the way it’s all changed his profile. “I’ve tried to capitalize on it as much as possible from a benefits perspective, but other than that, I still just do the same things. I go home after practice, I cook my dinners, play some video games or just chill. You’re not really going to find me too many places.”
Right before going to L.A., Dinwiddie filmed a spot for the Rachel Ray show that was broadcast the following week.
“That was more about my personal team,” said Dinwiddie. “I love to cook. Something I talk about a lot, it’s one of my hobbies. Not something that I’d like to do as a profession, but it is definitely one of my hobbies and I feel like I do it at a pretty decent level and the opportunity was birthed from that. Connections that my team had and made it happen.”
He went with one of his favorite recipes – citrus-lime marinated skirt steak quesadillas – and got a rave review from the host.
“It was kind of surreal,” said Dinwiddie. “It was one of the first times in a while that I’ve been nervous. Just being in front of the crowd kind of putting it on display.
“It’s not what I guess I’m paid to do or built to do. It’s just something that I do for a passion and for a small group of people. Putting that on that stage and being vulnerable was a little bit of a new experience. But it was cool to have her say she enjoyed it.”
It should have been evident from the start that Dinwiddie was prepared to handle the opportunity that came his way. Back at Nets media day in September, when his role on the court was a little less certain, the 24-year-old took charge of his interview session from the start, announcing the formation of his Dinwiddie Family Foundation, raising money for youth scholarships, before anybody even started asking basketball questions.
As this breakthrough season nears its conclusion, he’s looking forward to more work on that end, with a big fundraiser coming up.
“Everything’s been going great,” said Dinwiddie. “I’m really excited about it. Just want it to keep going.
“It’s a good time right now.”