When Patrick and Cam Spencer decided to launch a charitable foundation, the beneficiary was never in doubt. The Anne Arundel County natives, who are both playing in the NBA, leaned into their personal experience.
The recently launched Spencer Brothers Foundation will support military members — both active duty and retired — and their families.
“We always knew we wanted to do something to give back to the military because so many service members have been a huge part of our lives,” said Cam Spencer, a rookie guard with the Memphis Grizzlies.
It all starts with their father, Bruce Spencer, being best friends with Danny Smalley — a former Navy lacrosse player whose father was a longtime member of the academy’s athletic department. For more than 30 years, Spencer and Smalley, both 1984 Annapolis High graduates, would spend Thanksgiving morning inside Halsey Fieldhouse playing flag football and basketball. It was not uncommon for two dozen or more people to participate.
Patrick, Cam and Will Spencer were introduced to the ritual and loved it.
“We grew up going to the Naval Academy on Thanksgiving and playing sports for hours and hours. We have a lot of great memories from that tradition,” said Patrick, in his third season as a member of the Golden State Warriors organization.
When the Spencers moved back to Annapolis from Rhode Island in 2008, Donna told Bruce she wanted to sponsor midshipmen from the Naval Academy. They did so for nearly a decade and all those midshipmen became part of the family.
Patrick and Cam can remember Naval Academy student-athletes coming to the family home in Davidsonville to relax, enjoy a steak dinner, watch college football and get a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed.
“We have a bunch of Naval Academy graduates who are like big brothers. They were all great role models for the three of us,” Cam said. “They taught us a lot about discipline and sacrifice as well as a deep love for the country.”
Another highly influential figure for all three Spencer brothers was Cliff Rees, their varsity basketball coach at Boys’ Latin. Rees, who was a starting forward for Navy basketball during the David Robinson era, is a 1988 academy graduate and retired Marine Corps officer.
Perhaps the most important connection to the military for the Spencer brothers is their grandfather, Jack Spencer, who served in the United States Army.
“We always knew we wanted to give back in some capacity and with our long-term connection to the Naval Academy, it seemed like focusing on the military was the right thing to do,” Patrick said. “Hopefully, through this foundation we can give back to active duty military and retired veterans and positively impact their lives.”
On the landing page of the Spencer Brothers Foundation website is the mission statement: Serving those who served. Starting with veterans battling PTSD.
Patrick and Cam decided to make post-traumatic stress disorder a particular focus of the organization’s outreach. Having spoken to veterans that have served overseas, especially those that have seen combat, the brothers learned how many military members are impacted by PTSD.
“We just feel that’s an area that often gets overlooked. We want to make sure the people who are sacrificing their lives overseas are taken care of when they come home,” Patrick said.
The Spencer brothers have partnered with two existing nonprofit organizations to provide support for service members suffering from PTSD. One is the Salute Military Golf Association, based out of Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring, Maryland.
SMGA provides rehabilitative golf programs, experiences and family-inclusive outings for wounded warriors, including those with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. SMGA holds numerous golf events around the country and provides military veterans with access to dozens of courses.
“We’re really excited about working with that organization, which is doing great things for veterans. I think golf is great therapy and a great recreation outlet for these folks,” Patrick said.
Another partner is Operation Second Chance, which is based in Germantown and committed to serving wounded, injured or ill veterans. Since 2020, OPS has hosted retreats for service members and their families at Heroes Ridge in Rock Haven, located in the Catoctin Mountains of western Maryland.
Hoop dreams
Patrick Spencer transitioned to basketball following a highly decorated college lacrosse career at Loyola Maryland. He was a four-time All-American and won the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s best player as a senior.
The oldest Spencer brother transferred to Northwestern to play college basketball as a fifth-year senior. After initially playing professionally in Germany, Patrick signed with the Capital City Go-Go, the G League affiliate of the Washington Wizards. He then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Golden State and was assigned to their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
Following two successful seasons with Santa Cruz, Spencer signed a two-way contract with the Warriors and has spent the majority of this season on the NBA roster.
“I spent a lot of time with Santa Cruz the last couple years, so management felt I was ready to get up here and get after it. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten a chance to get consistent minutes, which is tough,” Patrick said. “I just have to keep grinding and working hard off the court to keep my game sharp.”
Patrick Spencer has appeared in 21 games and is averaging 7.5 minutes, 3.0 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He logged a career-high 17 minutes against the Lakers last week and scored a career-high 17 points on 7-for-12 field goal shooting versus the Pacers on Jan. 10.
“You need to make the most of your minutes when you get them. I think I’ve played pretty well whenever given an opportunity. I think I’ve earned the trust of the coaches and players,” Spencer said. “I’ve done enough to know that I can definitely impact the game at this level and help the team win.”
Cam Spencer began his college basketball career at Loyola Maryland and was named first team All-Patriot League as a junior. He transferred to Rutgers for one season then entered the portal again and landed at Connecticut.
Spencer was the leading 3-point shooter for the Huskies during their 2023-24 national championship season and earned first team All-Big East Conference honors after averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals as a graduate student.
He was selected in the second round of the NBA draft (53rd overall) by the Detroit Pistons then promptly traded to Memphis.
Cam Spencer also signed a two-way contract and has spent most of this season with the Grizzlies. He has appeared in 10 games and averaged 12.1 minutes along with 4.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
“I feel I have played pretty solidly whenever the minutes have come. I just need to keep working hard so I’m ready whenever the opportunity comes,” Cam said.
Cam earned some national notoriety when he exploded for 51 points on the strength of 12 3-pointers while playing for the Memphis Hustle, the G League affiliate of the Grizzlies.
“I had a couple go in early and just fed off that. I had a good rhythm going and the shots were falling,” Spencer said of that spectacular performance.
A remarkable moment for the Spencer family came on Jan. 4 when Memphis played at Golden State. Patrick checked into the game for the Warriors and Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins immediately inserted Cam. Patrick was in the backcourt set to take the inbounds pass and was picked up full-court by his younger brother.
“That was a really cool moment, for sure — a childhood dream come true. All those games of one-on-one we played against each other in the driveway and now we’re matched up in an NBA game,” Cam said. “That will be a moment we remember forever, but hopefully that’s just the beginning.”
Cam and Patrick have spent many hours on the phone discussing plans for the foundation or exchanging emails to finalize certain details. They have carefully planned what will become the primary annual fundraiser: the Spencer Brothers Foundation Golf & Poker Invitational.
The poker tournament will be held Thursday, Aug. 7 at the Fisherman’s Inn on Kent Island with the golf outing slated for the following morning at Queenstown Harbor. A handful of NBA players and other professional athletes will participate in the event. A silent auction will feature all sorts of sports memorabilia with the top donor receiving a Seth Curry jersey signed by the future Hall of Famer.
There are numerous other outreach initiatives planned for the foundation with the Spencer brothers looking to conduct basketball camps that in some way benefit the military. For now, they have not hired an executive director to manage the foundation, choosing to do so themselves.
“For now, we want to be very hands-on because we want to make sure the funds are going to the right places. Eventually, once everything is on solid ground, we’ll get somebody on board to run the foundation,” Patrick said. “It’s been very time-consuming and we’ve both put a lot of time into getting this off the ground. It’s trending in the right direction and we’re fired up about that.”
Bruce Spencer is proud of Patrick and Cam for establishing a foundation that has the potential to positively impact military veterans and their families. “They have really put their heart and soul, along with a lot of time and effort, into this initiative,” he said.
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