That’s because the 6-8 guard is the youngest player in American hoops to have gone pro—ever. 

Last spring, just after turning 17, the wiry, athletic phenom bypassed his senior year at LG Pinkston High School in Texas to join the G League Ignite. He etched himself into the record books by signing a two-year deal with the NBA’s premier developmental unit, edging out former Ignite star Scoot Henderson—who, up to that point, had been the youngest American to participate in a professional basketball league—by five weeks.

But beyond Pate’s historically young age marker—which, to be clear, has become more normalized in the modern world of basketball—he’s simply a baller. Throw on his highlight tape and you’ll quickly understand why this Southern blue chipper has been wildly sought after. Ranked as a five-star prospect, he garnered recruitment from the nation’s premier college programs (Kansas, Kentucky, Georgetown and the like) as one of the most coveted additions of his class.

Instead, he took the LaMelo Ball route by going pro early. He played with the Ignite for a season, and in his limited but stellar outings, cemented his potential as a hybrid 1 guard who can do it all. He concluded his debut campaign with an average of 24 minutes, 8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per contest. His length, smoothness, creativity and tempered decision making are reminiscent of Penny Hardaway (one of Pate’s idols) mixed with Shaun Livingston—another of Pate’s exemplaries—and a dash of (yes, I’m gonna say it) LeBron James, who is Pate’s all-time favorite.

“I watch the big guards. I key into what they’re doing,” he tells me over a Zoom call from his porch in Dallas. “But basketball wasn’t even my first love. I was a football player, bruh. I wanted to go to the NFL like Julio Jones, Dez Bryant. I only started playing basketball because I was in a program where you had to play both.”

It explains Pate’s propensity for action and his ability to shift gears and hit the lane with relentless bursts of speed. Large and point-guard minded, Pate knows where his spots are and will surgically get there to create for himself and his teammates. A panther in transition, he pounces, glides and Euro-steps around, through and over any defenders clogging the lane. Impressively, the former NFL hopeful plays with more finesse than force on the hardwood. In fact, it’s his cerebral grasp of in-game rhythm and flow that most seems to define his potential contributions at the NBA level.

But his plans to reach the Association became complicated by Ignite’s recent disbandment; only halfway into his contract with the team, the Las Vegas-based squad folded. Their unexpected dissolution means Pate and his cohort were the last to ever suit up in the experimental NBA organization’s black, purple and white threads. Like always, he had to figure out the best play to make next.

First, he attempted to enter the 2024 NBA Draft with his teammates Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland (lottery picks for the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons, respectively) via a waiver exemption, but was denied due to being under the League’s age limit. That hasn’t deterred the bucket-getting protégé from pursuing his telos, though. Pate made a historic pivot by signing with the NBA-affiliated Mexico City Capitanes.

“I found out [about Ignite’s ending] 45 minutes before the world found out. I didn’t think an NBA program would shut down,” he admits. “But I don’t regret it. That’s adversity. That’s where I get my confidence from. I have to be fully prepared. You never know what’s gonna happen next. What’s next is I went to the gym and I had a job to do, the season wasn’t over yet. And it means I’m the last one in history, as the youngest to ever play with the Ignite.

“I’ve always kept the main thing the main thing,” he adds, without hesitation. “Basketball is the main thing.”

Basketball is why Dink Pate—a Black, Gen Z teenager from Pleasant Grove—is living in Mexico’s capital. Currently, he’s projected to be a star on the Capitanes.

The outfit is the only Mexican-owned sporting franchise to ever compete as a full-fledged member of any pro US league. Having officially joined the G in 2021, Mexico City has since become a top destination for NBA veterans like Jahlil Okafor, Kenneth Faried, Michael Carter-Williams and Juan Toscano-Anderson, who enjoy the chance to shine in North America’s largest city (Mexico City is bigger than New York, L.A, Chicago, Toronto or any other city you can name on this continental expanse). The metropolitan scale and commercial offerings, along with its passionate, international fan base, is something that other G League teams located in places like Southaven, Mississippi and Oshkosh, WI, simply cannot match. And unless they’re on a two-way contract, Capitanes players are available to be called up by any of the NBA’s 30 troupes, which makes it an ideal proving ground for a rising star like Pate. 

And yet, the Capitanes are also Latin America’s home base for its growing ranks of hoop talent aiming to reach the NBA from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil the Dominican Republic and elsewhere. The coaching staff is bilingual. The players and personnel vary in age, experience and career paths. It’s no ordinary circumstance for anyone to enter, let alone an American teenager who nearly ended up playing at the University of Alabama before deciding to go pro.

To his credit, Pate isn’t overthinking any of it. He’s taking Spanish classes once a week. Growing up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where the Capitanes coincidentally played their home games during the COVID-impacted 2021 season (and which boasts over 2 million Mexican-heritage residents), has prepared him for this moment. He feels eager if not proud to put a spotlight on Mexico’s culture and its affinity for basketball.

“I be wearing my sombrero, bruh. I got Mexican homeboys. I stay representing,” he tells me, a Mexican American, with a genuine smile. “I feel like I got a country on my back now. I went down for two weeks and was showered with nothing but love. I love Mexico. That’s family.”

Mexico City will provide more than enough opportunities for what Pate is ready to deliver. Unlike his US-born contemporaries who will be mostly playing in front of college students and alumni at prestigious, ivory-towered campuses, Pate will be electrifying thousands of Spanish-chanting fans at Arena CDMX in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood of Mexico City as a member of the Capitanes.

When we linked up down south, he had just finished practice at Mexico’s national Olympic facility. We met at the bustling Monumento a la Revolución in the Aztec capital’s Plaza de la República. The triumphal arch—think the Arc de Triomphe on Champs-Élysées—symbolizes Mexico’s revolution, in which myth-like heroes such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa were crowned liberators of the country’s working classes, effectively rewriting Mexican history over a century ago. 

Besides standing for the nation’s rebellion, the memorial is also the primary logo for the Capitanes. And what better identifier is there for Pate—a player who has already broken history as the youngest pro US baller, and who signed to Reebok—than an ode to revolution?

The NBA’s current age eligibility rules were implemented in 2006, just three years after LeBron James entered the League straight out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School like an otherworldly meteor of fiery athleticism and professional maturity. But what King James has accomplished since going pro as a teen has been, well, kingly and unprecedented. In 2005, the NBA’s CBA determined that the League simply needed more time in assessing its ultra-young pool of talent, so mandated that all future players must be at least one year removed from their high school graduation and must turn 19 years old within the same calendar year of being drafted.

Unfortunately for Pate, being born in March means he won’t hit 19 until 2025, when he can finally become eligible for the NBA alongside fellow lottery prospects like Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. At this stage, he’s embracing each step with a precocious mindfulness.

“You can do everything with poetry,” Pate says. “Poetry is real calm. It’s not loud. Stay low and move slow.”

When asked where he developed that mindset, he cites the apodictic rap revolutionary, Tupac Shakur. Pate flashes his Makaveli tattoo and tells me that all 713 of Pac’s tracks are worth listening to. 

On the court, Pate carries a Shakurian blend of maturity and freeness of spirit. You can see it in his off-the-dribble shooting. His calculated step backs. His rhythmic spins. And you can see it in the way he carries a joyful confidence, too.

“I’m not worried about my game,” he says. “I’m focused on my leadership, my communication. I’m gonna be that guy on the team. I’m ready to take the blame. I’ve always been a leader to high school kids but I’m about to be thrown to the fire. I’m ready for it.”

Portraits by Sandra Blow.

The post Dink Pate is Ready to Make History and Become the First Pro Hooper Drafted Out of Mexico appeared first on SLAM.

“My Turn is my favorite,” he tells SLAM of Lil Baby’s 2020 album. “There’s no misses on that album.”

It’s poetically fitting for Hendricks, who has meteorically risen up the mock drafts to become one of the top prospects of his class.

The last time UCF made a splash like this in the men’s basketball world, they had a 7-6 giant named Tacko Fall wandering their Orlando campus. But even in his four years, Fall never sniffed the heights that Hendricks has reached as a freshman.

In fact, no other hooper in the 43-year history of the American Athletic Conference has achieved what Hendricks has when he became the only player to notch seven consecutive Freshman of the Week honors while leading the Knights in points (15.1 ppg), blocks (59), rebounds (7 rpg) and total minutes played (1,179).

Translation: the Fort Lauderdale native is crushing it.

“It always feels good to leave a legacy, but coming in, I wasn’t expecting it or thinking about any of it,” he says. “I just came here to play my best and keep growing my game.”

As a projected first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Hendricks is showing that his ceiling (and literal vertical ability) is higher than most predicted. 

The four-star recruit wasn’t charted to be a potential lottery pick, despite being the most prized basketball prospect in the school’s history—declining offers from Miami, LSU, Iowa State, Florida and Florida State before committing to the lesser-known UCF.

“Something that has helped me throughout my basketball career is not really caring about rankings,” he says. “Sometimes that can mess you up, so I just focused on playing basketball the right way.”

A disruptive defender on the wing? Check. Spot-up shooter from deep? Hendricks got you covered there. High-flying tomahawk off the fastbreak? Hendricks will serve one right up. Rebounder who can bang in the paint? He does that, too.

With his twin brother Tyler—a freshman guard—at his side, Taylor is locked in on his teamplay and work ethic, sharpening himself like a veritable Swiss Army knife. For a hooper who didn’t make the McDonald’s All American Game cut, he has surely looked like he can run with the best of them. 

And he’s no stranger to success, either, having teamed up with current Toronto Raptor Scottie Barnes and Washington Wizard Vernon Carey Jr to win a state title in high school.

Now, this 19-year-old is on the verge of reaching his own NBA dreams. It’s his turn.

“They want me to be the guy. I told ’em that I’m ready to do it.”

Photos via Getty Images.

The post UCF’s Taylor Hendricks is Putting Everyone on Notice as a Projected Lottery Pick in the 2023 NBA Draft appeared first on SLAM.

When 22-year-old Mexican point guard Moisés Andriassi competed in youth tournaments around Mexico City, he never imagined he’d one day be playing with NBA veterans and prospects in front of friends and family. But with the arrival of the G League’s Mexico City Capitanes—the first-ever Latin American—based franchise with an NBA affiliation—
hoopers south of the border don’t have to imagine anymore.

“People don’t respect or believe in us outside of Mexico,” Andriassi tells SLAM of the basketball talent in his native country. “But now we’re getting more respect. We got Juan Toscano[-Anderson] on the Lakers and other players in tough leagues around the world. We’re showing them that we can hoop. There’s no doubt.”

Andriassi, the former Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional Rookie of the Year and current Mexican national team member, is considered one of Mexico’s most promising prospects. Despite his childhood friends growing up with fútbol aspirations, Andriassi chose to spend time with his father and two older brothers—who each played collegiate- level basketball in Mexico—putting up shots and training like one of his favorite players, Kobe Bryant.

Now, Andriassi—who has also played professionally in Spain—is elated to represent his home country as a member of the Capitanes in the NBA’s development league. Along with his teammate, veteran forward Orlando Méndez-Valdez, Andriassi is one of only two Mexican heritage players in the league. Their inclusion on the same squad highlights one of the Capitanes’ biggest goals: to showcase Latin America’s skills on the court.

Since announcing their move to the G League in 2019, the team has played one season against US competition. Covid-19 put their inaugural season on hold, and then last season they had to be relocated to Fort Worth, TX, where they played against G League teams in G League markets. This year, on November 6, the franchise finally opened their G League campaign on Mexican soil with a 120-84 win against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. As of press time, they’ve gone 5-3. The inaugural series of games has been, by definition, a historic moment for North American sports, the first of its kind.

Andriassi has been singularly focused on helping his team—and country—stay atop the G League standings, contributing from the bench as a reserve behind two-time NCAA champion and NBA journeyman Shabazz Napier.

Andriassi, Méndez-Valdez and Napier aren’t the only well-traveled players who are ready to make an international splash in El Distrito Federal, though. They’re part of a kaleidoscopic roster unlike any other that has been assembled in basketball, with a combination of former NBA lottery picks like Jahlil Okafor and rising talent from around Latin America, including Brazil’s Caio Pacheco and the Dominican Republic’s Jassel Perez.

“We have the most international visas on any NBA G League roster every year. Eight countries are represented, including our staff,” says Mitchell Thompson, an assistant coach for the Capitanes who also works as a trainer for NBA Mexico during the offseason. “It feels like we’re at a point of transition, where the NBA is developing and the game is more present [in Latin America]. The guys here understand this isn’t a normal situation—they’re pioneers.”

Although the idea of an NBA franchise in Mexico may have once seemed far-fetched, it’s now coming into clear focus, like a bold cross-court pass that could turn the momentum of a game. For starters, Mexico City is the most populous metropolis in North America (larger than even New York City) and is home to some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the Western Hemisphere, including Polanco—Mexico’s Beverly Hills—where Capitanes players currently reside and visiting teams stay. The massive city represents a growing base of “baloncesto” fans that align with the NBA’s mission, which has identified the region as an ideal entryway into the Latin America market.

Flights from cities like San Francisco, Dallas and Salt Lake City to Mexico City are not only easily accessible but also relatively shorter trips—or equidistant—when compared to other US markets with NBA franchises. In many cases, flying to Mexico City for teams in the Western Conference would be easier than taking a trip to Philadelphia or Miami. And for those who think having a Mexico-based NBA franchise is impractical, look no further than the Toronto Raptors, one of the NBA’s most popular franchises with a diehard Canadian fan base that was invigorated when they became champions in 2019.

Further appeal for a permanent US team in Mexico includes the food, the history and the abundance of cultural wealth that the vibrant nation and its local fans offer. There’s a grassroots passion and zeal that has already emerged during the team’s first few home games to start the ’22-23 season, the second of a five-year-minimum plan with the NBA.

On opening night, Arena CDMX attracted 7,391 fans, making it the highest-attended G League opening game of the 2022-23 season. One staff member on the Capitanes said the experience of playing in front of Mexican fans is unlike anything they’ve witnessed stateside. Prior to the regular season, the team had to petition the G League to allow fans to bring drums into the arena, something typical to other leagues in Mexico but nothing ever seen at games in the States. The G League allowed it, and it ensured that Capitanes’ homes games bring energy on the court and in the stands.

“The Latin American fans aren’t sterile and on their phones,” Thompson says. “There is a soccer fanship here that translates over to basketball. Hopefully, we can keep that Latino fan identity with us and not sterilize it. Standing and shouting the whole game is part of the environment.”

Picture a bus full of basketball players pulling into a world class arena. There are colorful outdoor markets, tianguis, with vendors marching along the streets, calling out daily specials and hawking merchandise amid a vortex of excitement. Fans are gathered in a rally, as they might for a soccer match. It’s an environment that puts the players in new and exciting situations, something that former Chicago Bulls forward Alfonzo McKinnie, an Illinois native in his second year with the Capitanes, relishes.

“Mexico is a proud country, they’re big basketball fans,” he says. “You hear about the dangerous stuff, but that’s not the experience for us athletes. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous at first because you read all this stuff, but then you get here and it’s dope. I’m from Chicago and we have a lot of stigma, too. But you can’t believe what you hear. You gotta go and experience it for yourself.”

An average day for a US born player like McKinnie, who admittedly speaks “terrible Spanish,” is training in Mexico’s Olympic facility—where Mexican boxers and gymnasts train, often pulling out their phones to take photos of Capitanes players—and then exploring Mexico’s trendy avenues and enjoying the perks of an international lifestyle.

“I feel like they’re very embracing, even with the language barrier. They see us and know we’re not Mexican, we’re not from here, [but] they just signal that we play basketball,” says McKinnie while demonstrating a hand shooting a ball, imitating how locals greet him. “The fan base is very interactive with us and that makes the transition for us as easy as possible. I’m just experiencing how the food and culture is here. It’s been great.”

Of course, there are challenges and inconveniences, too. Because of Mexico City’s dense traffic, for example, police escorts are required for each game. There’s also the frequent need to replace used nets after practices. And then there are also the little things, like not being able to drink water from the faucet. A lack of national infrastructure to cultivate top-tier basketball talent within Mexico is noticeable, too.

“This will take years of investment,” says Thompson. “There’s people playing basketball in Mexico, but we need more structure and coaches in place. Most people are surprised to hear that Mexico City has more basketball courts than soccer fields, but in the US we have kids playing basketball with good high school coaches around the country. That system just produces great basketball players. Mexico doesn’t really have that happening yet. That’s the next step, structurally.”

For now, the Capitanes are planting the seed of hope for future fans to build a relationship with the sport. A fastbreak dunk here. A no-look pass there. It’s all part of the game plan. And for the first time ever, fans in a Spanish-speaking country will have regular access to an NBA product. It’s no coincidence that Mexico is also home to the only NBA store in Latin America, as well as the NBA Academy Latin America, located five hours north of Mexico City in the state of San Luis Potosí.

Arguably no other international destination is more primed for an NBA moment than Mexico City right now. The Capitanes’ logo, Monumento a la Revolución, isn’t just about celebrating Mexico’s national revolution; it symbolizes the revolution of basketball in Latin America and the squad of hoopers from all over the map who represent them.

“These guys, at the end of the day, they just wanna hoop,” Thompson says.

And that’s exactly what they’re doing, with Latin America’s diverse fan base eager to be along for the ride on this historic step forward.

Photos via Getty Images.

The post The Mexico City Capitanes are More Than Just Another Pro Sports Team—They’re Elevating the Game in Latin America appeared first on SLAM.