For some players, such as Dallas Mavericks veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie, the business side of the NBA can be cruel when it comes time for a new contract. Dinwiddie revealed how clear the Mavericks organization was regarding his role in 2024-25, which made rejoining Dallas an easy decision. After his experience with the Brooklyn Nets, it’s understandable why Spencer appreciated the transparency. 

In a recent Run Your Race podcast episode, Dinwiddie explained how, due to injury, he missed out on a $100 million contract. Spencer didn’t want to miss significant time while playing alongside superstars Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving, but he suffered a season-ending injury by not taking proper precautions. 

“I ain’t going to lie to you because this one hurt so bad when this happened. I was like, maybe it’s a meniscus or something; if I shave it, I’ll be back in a couple of months,” Dinwiddie said. “You’ve got to remember I just came off of averaging 20, so now I’m like, alright, cool, I’m just going to be basically like the glue connecting piece for this team, we’re going to win a title, and I’m going to get a crazy bag from the standpoint of I can be a glue guy on a title team, or I can be an offensive juggernaut if you’re like okay or decent.

“I still got a good contract because obviously of what happened, but I had $100 million sitting in my hand; it was right there,” Dinwiddie concluded.

After averaging 20.6 points and 6.8 assists in 2019-20, Dinwiddie suffered a season-ending injury three games into the following campaign. Unbeknownst to him, he tore his ACL and eventually signed a three-year deal worth $55 million in 2021. At the end of that contract, Dinwiddie inked a one-year, $3.3 million deal with the Mavericks over the summer.

Spencer Dinwiddie drops eye-opening Mavericks truth bomb

After Mavericks stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving missed practice on Tuesday, Spencer Dinwiddie could see an uptick in playing time against the Clippers. Averaging 21.4 minutes per game, Dinwiddie reprised an essential role for the Mavericks off the bench — something he appreciated discussing with the organization beforehand, per ClutchPoints’ Joey Mistretta.

“One of the biggest credits to this organization is they do a phenomenal job of communicating,” Dinwiddie said. “Approaching it with the standpoint of like, ‘hey, this is a championship-caliber team. What can I do night in and night out to help us win’… that doesn’t mean big-scoring nights.”

The Mavs host the Clippers on Thursday.