One of the more surprising moves of the NBA offseason was one-time Los Angeles Lakers guard Spencer Dinwiddie signing a contract with Bayern Munich, heading to Germany instead of continuing his NBA career. In 2024-25, Dinwiddie averaged 11.0 points per game with the Mavericks in 79 games. Not a worldbeater by any means, but at just 32, he seemed to be an NBA-caliber player still.
Now, in the middle of Bayern's season, Dinwiddie has left the team to deal with a "serious illness in his family," according to the team's press release. Dinwiddie himself was quoted in that same release as saying, “I would like to thank the organization, the team and the fans; despite the recent difficult phase of the season, I felt very comfortable in Munich. Unfortunately, however, I am currently unable to play."
First and foremost, I hope that Dinwiddie is doing well both physically and emotionally. Having to stop working because of a family matter is pretty scary, and props to Bayern for allowing Dinwiddie to take time and deal with that.
Dinwiddie was succeeding with Bayern Munich in first season
The 11-year NBA veteran seemed to be finding his rhythm in Germany. He had scored in double-digits for eight straight games, including a 25-point outburst against Partizan Belgrade early in December. The change from an NBA style of play to a European style is not easy, and Dinwiddie had a few bumps along the way, but overall, he looked pretty comfortable in his first professional non-NBA year. Dinwiddie played 28 games with the Lakers in the 2023-24 season.
Bayern is in the middle of a successful season for the team (Bayern is 13-1 and atop the Bundesliga standings) and Dinwiddie was a pretty big part of that scorching start. In his place, the team signed guard Nenad Dimitrijevic.
Of course, Dinwiddie should take his time dealing with this familial matter. I'm sure basketball is the last thing on his mind right now, and whatever his next steps are with the game should come on his own timeline and his own terms.