2022-23 Brooklyn Nets player grades: Spencer Dinwiddie
The 2022-23 season was an interesting one for the Brooklyn Nets. In a season that started with championship expectations, the Nets’ season ended with just trying to hold on to a playoff spot after trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to end the superstar experiment once and for all.
At one point, Brooklyn was regarded as one of the main contenders in the Eastern Conference with Durant and Irving leading the way. Once the trade deadline came and went, the Nets had a completely different team led by budding star wing Mikal Bridges.
Not to mention, Brooklyn went through a coaching change after Steve Nash was fired following a 2-5 start to this season. Jacque Vaughn is now the head man of a team that is currently in flux thanks to the trades of Durant and Irving. While the offseason is still fresh, it’s a good time to review all of the Nets who played this season starting with: guard Spencer Dinwiddie
(All stats are courtesy of basketball-reference.com).
Traditional stats (W/Nets):
16.5 PPG
4.1 RPG
9.1 APG
1.1 SPG
40.4 FG%
28.9 3FG%
79.7 FT%
Advanced Stats (W/Nets):
15.8 PER
52.3 TS%
11.8 TO%
22.5 USG%
2.0 WS
0.2 BPM
0.5 VORP
Statistical Achievements (W/Nets):
64th in the NBA in PPG
4th in APG
Tied for 8th in SPG
118th in FG%
73rd in FT%
Contract:
2023-24: $20.357 million
Takeaways:
Dinwiddie came to Brooklyn in the Kyrie Irving trade and as a result, took over the starting lead guard spot for the Nets. Once he took over, Dinwiddie showed his ability to pass the basketball with the best of them and was among the league leaders in assists per game during his stint in Brooklyn this season.
Even though he scoring per game went down by more than a full point, the fact that Dinwiddie averaged a little more than four assists per game more than what he did with the Dallas Mavericks shows that he was able to score almost as much while providing value as a passer as well. The only thing is, it was clear that the change in role affected Dinwiddie’s shooting efficiency in a negative way.
All be told, Dinwiddie showed that he could be a lead guard for some teams assuming that there isn’t a more dominant ball-handler ahead of him. Dinwiddie has spoken about wanting to be a lead guard because he’s better able to develop a rhythm, but it would be interesting to see him in the lead guard role for a full season.
2022-23 season grade (W/Nets): B
