diff --git a/python/cudf/cudf/_lib/spillable_buffer.pyx b/python/cudf/cudf/_lib/spillable_buffer.pyx
index 2e7c3160650..a4d298b50c3 100644
--- a/python/cudf/cudf/_lib/spillable_buffer.pyx
+++ b/python/cudf/cudf/_lib/spillable_buffer.pyx
@@ -235,6 +235,9 @@ cdef class SpillableBuffer:
             return self._ptr
 
     cdef void* ptr_raw(self, SpillLock spill_lock) except *:
+        if spill_lock is None:
+            return <void*><uintptr_t> self.ptr
+
         # Get base buffer
         cdef SpillableBuffer base
         cdef size_t offset
@@ -245,9 +248,6 @@ cdef class SpillableBuffer:
             base = self._view_desc["base"]
             offset = self._view_desc["offset"]
 
-        if spill_lock is None:
-            return <void*><uintptr_t> base.ptr
-
         with base._lock:
             base.move_inplace(target="gpu")
             base._last_accessed = time.monotonic()