Spencer Hawes

Spencer Hawes
Spencer Hawes
Born	Spencer Mason Hawes; April 28, 1988 (age 38)
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2007–2019
Known for	NBA center for Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks

Spencer Mason Hawes (born April 28, 1988) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. Playing the position of center, he was chosen by the Sacramento Kings during the 2007 NBA draft. He is also the nephew of former NBA player Steve Hawes.

High school career

Hawes held the center position at Seattle Preparatory School, a prestigious college-preparatory institution located in Seattle, Washington. His squad secured the state championship title in the 2005–06 season, with Hawes earning the tournament MVP accolade. Due to a newly implemented NBA regulation mandating players to wait one year after graduating from high school, he was ineligible for the 2006 NBA draft. After that season, Hawes received multiple honors including recognition as an Associated Press All-American, McDonald's All-American, Parade All-American, and USA Today All-American. Additionally, he was awarded the 2006 Gatorade Boys Basketball Washington Player of the Year and was named Seattle Times player of the year.

Ranked as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Hawes was positioned as the No. 2 center and No. 6 overall prospect nationwide in 2006. His teammates dubbed him “Baby Calf” due to his awkward movements off the court, which were attributed to a rapid growth spurt—from 6’4" as a freshman to 6’11" by his senior year—highlighting his significant physical transformation during high school.

College career

At the University of Washington, Hawes continued his basketball journey, following both his uncle, Steve Hawes, and father, Jeff. He led the Huskies with an average of 14.9 points per game, placing him tenth in the Pac-10 conference, while also averaging 6.4 rebounds per game, ranking ninth in the league. During his freshman year, Hawes set a new school record with 461 points—a record later broken by Isaiah Thomas. He notched nine games with over 20 points and recorded three double-doubles, earning a spot on the Pac-10 all-freshman team.

Sacramento Kings (2007–2010)

Anticipated to be picked between fifth and twelfth overall, Hawes was ultimately selected tenth overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2007 NBA draft.

In his debut season (2007–08), he participated in 71 games but was a starter in only eight contests, averaging 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds across 13.1 minutes per game while shooting .459 from the field.

During his sophomore campaign, following the trade of starting center Brad Miller, Hawes gained more playing time. He elevated his performance to average 11.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game on .466 shooting over nearly 30 minutes per game, starting in 51 matches. His season was cut short due to an injury sustained from a flagrant foul committed by Kenyon Martin of the Denver Nuggets, which generated controversy and drew criticism from Kings co-owner Joe Maloof.

Philadelphia 76ers (2010–2014)

On June 17, 2010, Hawes was traded alongside Andrés Nocioni to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for center Samuel Dalembert. In the 2010–11 season, he posted an average of 7.2 points per game.

Among his standout performances was a near triple-double on March 16, 2013, against the Indiana Pacers, where he tallied 18 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists, and seven blocks. On November 22, 2013, he contributed 25 points and collected 12 rebounds while sinking a critical three-pointer that forced overtime in a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Throughout the 2013–14 season, Hawes ranked twelfth across the league in three-point shooting percentage.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2014)

On February 20, 2014, Hawes was sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade that involved Earl Clark, Henry Sims, and two future second-round draft selections moving in the opposite direction.

Los Angeles Clippers (2014–2015)

Hawes inked a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers on July 9, 2014. He was in the starting lineup for 15 games throughout February and March while teammate Blake Griffin was sidelined due to a staph infection. During this period, he tied his season-best scoring output of 17 points in a defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 8.

Charlotte Hornets (2015–2017)

On June 15, 2015, Hawes was traded along with Matt Barnes to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Lance Stephenson. In the first round of the 2016 playoffs versus the Miami Heat, Hawes sustained a sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, which forced him out for the remainder of the series.

Milwaukee Bucks (2017)

Hawes and Roy Hibbert were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks on February 2, 2017, with Miles Plumlee heading to their former team. After joining the Bucks, Hawes missed his first 11 contests. He made his debut on March 3 with limited playing time against the Los Angeles Clippers, then recorded 16 points and eight rebounds in just 17 minutes during a victory over the Toronto Raptors on March 4. The Bucks waived him on September 1, 2017.

South Bay Lakers (2019)

On March 2, 2019, Hawes signed with the NBA G League's South Bay Lakers.

National team career

Hawes first appeared for USA Basketball in April 2006 as part of the USA Junior National Select Team at the Nike Hoop Summit. Later that summer, he led all players in scoring with 24 points and secured 10 rebounds during the gold medal game of the FIBA Americas under-18 Championship, contributing significantly to Team USA's 104–82 victory over Argentina. Throughout the tournament, he averaged 12.0 points and 7.5 rebounds under the guidance of his future college coach, Lorenzo Romar.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento | 71 || 8 || 13.1 || .459 || .190 || .655 || 3.2 || .6 || .2 || .6 || 4.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento | 77 || 51 || 29.3 || .466 || .348 || .662 || 7.1 || 1.9 || .6 || 1.2 || 11.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Sacramento | 72 || 59 || 26.4 || .468 || .299 || .689 || 6.1 || 2.2 || .4 || 1.2 || 10.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 81 || 81 || 21.2 || .465 || .243 || .534 || 5.7 || 1.5 || .4 || .9 || 7.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 37 || 29 || 24.9 || .489 || .250 || .727 || 7.3 || 2.6 || .4 || 1.3 || 9.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | style="background:#cfecec;"| 82* || 40 || 27.2 || .464 || .356 || .777 || 7.2 || 2.2 || .3 || 1.4 || 11.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 53 || 53 || 31.4 || .451 || .399 || .782 || 8.5 || 3.3|| .6||1.3||13.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Cleveland |27||25||29.8||.468||.448||.784||7.7||2.4||.5||1.0||13.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | L.A. Clippers |73||15||17.5||.393||.313||.647||3.5||1.2||.3||.7||5.8 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Charlotte |57||6||18.2||.405||.373||.831||4.3||1.9||.4||.5||6.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Charlotte |35||1||17.9||.477||.291|| .882||4.2||1.8||.4||.7||7.3 |- | style="text-align:left;" | | style="text-align:left;" | Milwaukee |19||0||9.0|||.508|||'.346'||'.778'||2,4'||1,0'||'.1'||'.2'||4,4 |- class="sortbottom" |'style="text-align:center;" colspan= "2"| Career |'684'||'368'||'22,7'||'.457'||'.350'||'.716'||'5,7'||'1,9'||'.4'||'1,0'||'8,7'

Playoff Performance

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2011 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 5 || 5 || 19.6 || .364 || .000 || .500 || 3.8 || 1.8 || .0 || .4 || 5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2012 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 13 || 12 || 25.5 || .463 || .400 || .731 || 6.6 || 1.6 || .3 || .8 || 9.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2015 | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 8 || 0 || 7.1 || .529 || .500 || 1.000 || 1.6 || .6 || .3 || .4 || 2.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2016 | style="text-align:left;"| Charlotte | 5 || 0 || 10.6 || .462 || .250 || .833 || 3.2 || .6 || .2 || .4 || 3.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2017 | style="text-align:left;"| Milwaukee | 3 || 0 || 5.7 || .400 || .500 || – || 1.3 || .3 || .0 || .3 || 1.7 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Overall | 34 || 17 || 16.4 || .449 || .389 || .737 || 4.1 || 1.1 || .2 || .6 || 5.7

University Career

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2006–07 | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 31 || 24|| 28.9|| .532|| .333|| .755|| 6.4|| 1.9|| .5|| 1.7|| 14.9

External links

DraftExpress.com profile