SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Spurs' Dominick Barlow's path to the NBA was filled with obstacles that may have stopped anyone.
From dealing with the pandemic ahead of the NBA Draft, going undrafted, and honing his game with the NBA's Overtime Elite, Barlow has paid his dues and explains how his journey to the league made him mentally strong.
“Respect to my younger self, like if you saw me now just knowing that I made a promise to myself of getting to the NBA and I stuck with it,” Barlow said to The Philadelphia Inquirer. “Being able to stay the course while dealing with COVID, going underrecruited, and having to go through all that stuff made me stronger mentally.”
Barlow has come a long way in his pro-basketball path, but at every stop, he's proven he has what it takes to make his NBA dreams come true.
With Overtime, he averaged 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and was named North Jersey Player of the Year during high school.
However, he would go undrafted in 2022 and would later receive a call post-draft that the Spurs signed him to a two-way deal, becoming the first Overtime player to be signed to an NBA club.
“The NBA is like a dream; it almost doesn’t feel real sometimes. My friends remind me sometimes and put perspective on me. I’m grateful for that," he said.
After spending time with the G League's Austin Spurs this season and earning himself a spot on the 2024 "Next Up" All-Star event, he saw a spike in minutes in San Antonio.
With Charles Bassey out for the season due to injury and recent injuries to Zach Collins, he made the most of his opportunity.
Through 22 games played, he's currently posting 4.5 points per game along with 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists, in 13.4 minutes.
And he is reminded of his ability to self-rely as his career moves forward.
“My journey is a little unique because there’s no reference point of following guys. I had to basically figure a lot of stuff out. I had a lot of people around me, but I had to do a lot of stuff on my own," he said.