Andrew Nembhard
Nembhard with Gonzaga in 2021
No. 2 – Indiana Pacers
PositionPoint guard / Shooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-01-16) January 16, 2000 (age 24)
Aurora, Ontario, Canada
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight191 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2022: 2nd round, 31st overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Playing career2022–present
Career history
2022–presentIndiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  Canada
FIBA Americas U18 Championship
Silver medal – second place 2018 Canada Team

Andrew William Nembhard (born January 16, 2000) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

College career

Nembhard with Florida in 2020

Nembhard was recruited to the University of Florida from Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. In his freshman season with the Gators, he started every game and tallied the fourth-highest freshman assist total in school history. After averaging 8.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists, and finishing fifth in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in assist-turnover ratio, Nembhard was named to the conference all-Freshman team.[1] Just a few days later, Nembhard hit a buzzer-beater to upset Louisiana State University (LSU) in the 2019 SEC tournament.[2]

Nembhard declared for the 2019 NBA draft, but ultimately chose to return to the Gators for his sophomore season.[3][4] As a sophomore, Nembhard averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game and led the SEC with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.[5] Following the season he declared for the 2020 NBA draft but hired an NCAA-certified agent, allowing him the option to return to Florida.[6][7] On May 30, 2020, Nembhard withdrew from the draft and entered the NCAA transfer portal.[8]

On June 23, 2020, Nembhard announced that he would transfer to Gonzaga. He chose the Bulldogs over offers from Duke, USC, Memphis, Georgetown and Stanford.[9] He was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on November 24.[10]

In his first Gonzaga season, he primarily came off the bench (though he played more minutes per game than two Bulldogs starters), averaging 9.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game[11] for a team that entered its conference tournament unbeaten. Nembhard was named the West Coast Conference's inaugural Sixth Man of the Year, and was also named to the all-conference second team.[12] He averaged 11.8 points, 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game as a senior. Nembhard was named to the First Team All-WCC.[13] On April 21, 2022, Nembhard declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[14]

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2022–present)

Nembhard was selected with the 31st overall pick by the Indiana Pacers. Nembhard joined the Pacers' 2022 NBA Summer League roster.[15] In his Summer League debut, Nembhard scored five points, five rebounds, and five assists in a 96–84 win over the Charlotte Hornets.[16] On July 22, 2022, Nembhard signed a four–year, $8.6M rookie contract with the Pacers, the largest rookie contract ever given to a second-rounder.[17][18] On November 28, Nembhard scored a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer in a 116–115 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.[19] On December 5, with Tyrese Haliburton injured, Nembhard scored a career-high 31 points, 13 assists, 8 rebounds, and 5 three-pointers in a win over the Golden State Warriors.[20]

On January 31, 2023, Nembhard was named a 2023 NBA Rising Star alongside standout rookie teammate Bennedict Mathurin.[21] Nembhard recorded back–to–back 20–point games with 24 points on March 16 against the Milwaukee Bucks, and 22 points on 9–14 shooting on March 18 against the Philadelphia 76ers.[22][23] On March 22, in a win against the Toronto Raptors, Nembhard recorded another double–double with 25 points and 10 assists on 11–17 shooting.[24] On March 28, as a starter against the Milwaukee Bucks, Nembhard recorded a double–double with 15 points and a career–high 15 assists.[25]

National team career

Nembhard represented Canada in FIBA competition at the U-16, U-17 and U-18 levels.[26] In 2019, he made the senior national team for the 2019 FIBA World Cup.[27]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 Indiana 75 63 27.6 .441 .350 .790 2.7 4.5 .9 .2 9.5
Career 75 63 27.6 .441 .350 .790 2.7 4.5 .9 .2 9.5

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Florida 36 36 32.9 .414 .347 .764 2.9 5.4 1.2 .1 8.0
2019–20 Florida 31 31 33.2 .441 .308 .775 3.0 5.6 1.1 .1 11.2
2020–21 Gonzaga 32 16 29.9 .480 .323 .754 2.4 4.4 1.1 .1 9.2
2021–22 Gonzaga 32 32 32.2 .452 .383 .873 3.4 5.8 1.6 .1 11.8
Career 131 115 32.1 .446 .343 .790 2.9 5.3 1.2 .1 10.0

Personal life

Nembhard is the son of Mary and Claude Nembhard. His younger brother Ryan plays basketball for Gonzaga.

References

  1. ^ Parler, Denver (March 12, 2019). "Nembhard Earns SEC All-Freshman Honors". Florida Gators. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  2. ^ Caron, Emily (March 15, 2019). "Watch: Florida's Andrew Nemhbard Sinks Last-Second Shot to Upset LSU in SEC Tournament". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Thompson, Edgar (April 12, 2019). "UF freshman Andrew Nembhard declares for NBA draft". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  4. ^ "Canadian guard Nembhard returning to Florida for sophomore season". The Sports Network. May 29, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  5. ^ Collings, Buddy (April 3, 2020). "Orlando area college basketball All Stars for 2019-20". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "Florida guards Andrew Nembhard and Tre Mann declare for NBA draft". ESPN. Associated Press. April 26, 2020. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "Canadian guard Andrew Nembhard declares for NBA draft again". CBC. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  8. ^ Borzello, Jeff (May 30, 2020). "Sources: Andrew Nembhard to exit NBA draft, transfer from Florida". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Conway, Tyler (June 23, 2020). "Florida Transfer Andrew Nembhard Commits to Gonzaga over Duke, More". Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  10. ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 24, 2020). "Transfer Andrew Nembhard eligible to play for Gonzaga men's basketball". ESPN. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
  11. ^ "2020-21 Gonzaga Bulldogs Roster and Stats". Sports Reference CBB. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "WCC Unveils 2020-21 Men's Basketball All-Conference Honors" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  13. ^ "Timme Tabbed WCC Player Of The Year" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  14. ^ "Zags' guard Nembhard to declare for NBA draft". ESPN.com. 2022-04-21. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  15. ^ "Indiana Pacers 2022 NBA2K23 Summer League Roster | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  16. ^ "Charlotte Hornets vs Indiana Pacers Jul 8, 2022 Box Scores | NBA.com". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  17. ^ "Pacers Sign Nembhard". www.nba.com. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  18. ^ "Pacers sign rookie point guard Andrew Nembhard to historic deal for 2nd-round pick". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  19. ^ Pagaduan, Jedd (November 28, 2022). "NBA Twitter erupts after Pacers rookie sends LeBron James, Lakers home crying with a game-winning triple". ClutchPoints. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  20. ^ Botkin, Brad (December 6, 2022). "Pacers rookie Andrew Nembhard upstages Stephen Curry with a performance he'll never forget". CBS NBA. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  21. ^ "Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard named NBA Rising Stars for All-Star Weekend". IndyStar.com. January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  22. ^ "Andrew Nembhard (24 Points) Highlights Vs. Milwaukee Bucks". NBA.com. March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  23. ^ "AAndrew Nembhard (22 Points) Highlights Vs. Philadelphia 76ers". NBA.com. March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  24. ^ "Andrew Nembhard Posts 25 Points & 10 Assists Vs. Toronto Raptors". NBA.com. March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  25. ^ "Andrew Nembhard with 15 Assists vs. Milwaukee Bucks". NBA.com. March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  26. ^ McLamb, Michael (June 14, 2018). "Andrew Nembhard: Canada's latest great hope". USA Today. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  27. ^ Smith, Doug (August 9, 2019). "Aurora teen Andrew Nembhard just might be ready to take on the basketball world". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 15, 2019.

External links

Indiana Pacers roster
2022 NBA draft
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