{{short description|American basketball player (born 2006)}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Dink Pate | image = | image_size = | caption = | position = Shooting guard / small forward | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 8 | weight_lb = 210 | league = NBA G League | team = Westchester Knicks | number = 1 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|2006|3|10}} | birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S. | high_school = L. G. Pinkston<br />(West Dallas, Texas) | college = Providence (commit) | draft_year = 2025 | career_start = 2023 | career_end = | years1 = 2023–2024 | team1 = NBA G League Ignite | years2 = 2024–2025 | team2 = Mexico City Capitanes | years3 = 2025–2026 | team3 = Westchester Knicks | highlights = * NBA G League Next Up Game (2024) }} '''Sasha "Dink" Pate''' (born March 10, 2006) is an American professional basketball player for the Westchester Knicks of the NBA G League. He became the youngest professional basketball player in U.S. history after joining the NBA G League Ignite.
==Early life and high school career== A native of Dallas, Texas, Pate played primarily point guard at L. G. Pinkston High School in West Dallas. In his last season, he averaged 20.3 points and was the named the 2022–2023 District 13-4A Most Valuable Player. He was also named to the 2022–2023 University Interscholastic League Boys 4A All-Region Team and All-State Team.<ref name="Dink Pate Signs with G League Ignite">{{cite web|title=Recruit Dink Pate signs with NBA's G League Ignite program|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/36217888/recruit-dink-pate-signs-nba-g-league-ignite-program|website=ESPN.com|date=April 17, 2023|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
Wanting to focus full time on basketball, Pate graduated from Pinkston a year early and continued his education by enrolling in online classes created by the NBA G League at Arizona State.<ref name="Dink Pate Signs with G League Ignite" />
===Recruiting=== Rated as a five-star prospect by ESPN, Pate announced he would forgo playing college basketball and instead play professionally for NBA G League Ignite after reclassifying to the 2023 class.<ref>{{cite web|first=Doric|last=Sam|title=Dink Pate Picks G-League over Alabama, Arkansas; Youngest US-Born Pro Ever|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10072735-dink-pate-picks-g-league-over-alabama-arkansas-youngest-us-born-pro-ever|website=BleacherReport.com|date=April 17, 2023|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref> He would have enrolled at Alabama or Arkansas had he not joined Ignite.<ref name="Dink Pate Signs with G League Ignite"/>
{{College Athlete Recruit Start|40=no|collapse=no|year=2023}} {{College Athlete Recruit Entry | recruit = Dink Pate | position = SG | hometown = Dallas, TX | highschool = West Dallas (TX) | feet = 6 | inches = 8 | weight = 210 | 40 = | commitdate = — | scout stars = | rivals stars = 4 | 247 stars = 4 | espn stars = 5 | espn grade = 88 }} {{College Athlete Recruit End | 40 = | year = 2023 | rivals ref title = | scout ref title = | espn ref title = | rivals school = | scout s = | espn schoolid = | 247 overall = 30 | rivals overall = 35 | espn overall = 30 | accessdate = March 21, 2024 | bball = yes }}
==Professional career== On April 17, 2023, Pate signed a two-year contract with the NBA G League Ignite. By joining Ignite, he became the youngest known professional basketball player in U.S. history, surpassing Scoot Henderson by five weeks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Texas High School Standout Dink Pate Signs With Ignite|url=https://ignite.gleague.nba.com/news/texas-high-school-standout-dink-pate-signs-with-ignite|website=NBA.com|date=April 17, 2023|access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref> On February 27, 2024, Pate scored a career-high 16 points along with 9 assists against the Texas Legends.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ignite Opens Seven-Game Road Trip With Loss To Legends, 132-111|url=https://gleague.nba.com/game/gli-vs-tex-2022300330|website=NBA.com|date=February 27, 2024|access-date=March 19, 2024}}</ref>
After the shutting down of the NBA G League Ignite on March 28, 2024, Pate was suggested to have had a waiver request to enter the 2024 NBA draft due to the team's closure and having turned 18 during the season, but he was denied entry to the draft that year.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Look at Dink Pate, the Ignite Guard Attempting to Enter the 2024 Draft After G League Program's Dissolution|url=https://www.si.com/nba/draft/newsfeed/a-look-at-ignite-guard-dink-pate-2024-nba-draft|website=SI.com|date=April 9, 2024|access-date=July 3, 2024}}</ref>
On July 3, 2024, Pate signed with the Mexico City Capitanes.<ref>{{cite web|first=Eduardo|last=Chávez|title=CAPITANES ANUNCIA LA INCOPORACIÓN DE DINK PATE|url=https://capitanes.mx/capitanes-anuncia-la-incoporacion-de-dink-pate/|website=Capitanes.mx|date=July 3, 2024|access-date=July 13, 2024|language=Spanish}}</ref>
Pate entered the 2025 NBA draft, but went undrafted and signed with the New York Knicks on June 27, 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-06-27 |title=New York Knicks Reportedly Sign 19-Year-Old Forward |url=https://www.si.com/fannation/nba/fastbreak/new-york-knicks-reportedly-sign-19-year-old-forward-pate |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Fastbreak On SI |language=en-US}}</ref>
As of April 2026, Pate has committed to play at Providence College <ref>https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48444013/dink-pate-miles-byrd-commit-bryan-hodgson-providence</ref> after being heavily recruited by Coach Bryan Hodgson ==Career statistics== {{NBA player statistics legend}}
===NBA G League=== {{NBA player statistics start|caption=Dink Pate NBA G League statistics}} |- !scope="row" style="text-align:left;"|2023–24 | style="text-align:left;"|G League Ignite | 31 || 20 || 23.5 || .347 || .214 || '''.727''' || 2.9 || '''3.8''' || .6 || .1 || 8.0 |- !scope="row" style="text-align:left;"|2024–25 | style="text-align:left;"|Mexico City | 34 || '''34''' || 26.9 || .408 || .261 || .581 || 5.1 || 2.1 || .6 || .1 || 10.1 |- !scope="row" style="text-align:left;"|2025–26 | style="text-align:left;"|Westchester | '''36''' || 33 || '''30.8''' || '''.416''' || '''.368''' || .708 || '''6.7''' || 3.6 || '''.8''' || '''.3''' || '''16.0''' |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 101 || 87 || 27.2 || .396 || .315 || .669 || 5.0 || 3.2 || .7 || .2 || 11.5 {{s-end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[https://gleague.nba.com/player/1641825/dink-pate NBA G League profile] *[https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Dink-Pate/Summary/186459 RealGM profile]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pate, Dink}} Category:2006 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American sportsmen Category:American expatriate basketball people in Mexico Category:American men's basketball players Category:Basketball players from Dallas Category:Mexico City Capitanes players Category:NBA G League Ignite players Category:Shooting guards Category:Westchester Knicks players