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Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, the No. 31 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, had a very strong debut season in the NBA.
Nembhard finished with the second-most assists and third-most steals among all rookies in 2022-23. He also ranked top-10 in points scored and 3-pointers made.
Despite the impressive campaign, however, Nembhard failed to receive All-Rookie honors. He finished with 46 total points, trailing Houston’s Tari Eason (47) by one single point.
The complete voting results for the 2022-23 Kia NBA All-Rookie Team: pic.twitter.com/zfSjo4c2i5
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 8, 2023
Nembhard (46) actually appeared on more total ballots than Eason (45) did for All-Rookie. Eason, however, received two votes to make First-Team All-Rookie, and those votes are weighted for double the points.
If he had made the list, Nembhard would have been the only non-first-round pick to receive the nod.
Instead, he will now head into his second professional campaign with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove to those who left him off their ballot.
The Tip-Off
NBA content from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
LeBron James delivered a heartfelt reflection about Bronny’s commitment to the USC Trojans: LeBron said:
“First of all, congratulations to my son on his next journey and picking a great university in USC. I’m proud of him. This is an incredible thing. I think I told Mike after the game unless it was one of my great-grandmothers or great-grandfathers or something like that, to my knowledge this is the first one out of the James gang to go to college. … So it’s very, very, very exciting, very humbling. And a great moment for our family. It’s just super cool. He’s a great kid. USC is getting a great kid. Obviously, he’s there to play basketball, but they’re going to be super surprised at how great of a kid he is even though they’ve been recruiting him for quite a while.”
One to Watch
(All odds via Tipico.)
Lakers (-2.5, -145) vs. Warriors (+2.5, +125), O/U 227.5, 10:00 PM ET
We’re watching two of the best players of all time (LeBron James and Stephen Curry) battle it out in a best-of-seven series. But it seems the most impressive player on the court is Anthony Davis. If he controls the game, the Lakers are a tough team to beat.
Shootaround
— Shaq issued the hilarious ‘I wasn’t familiar with your game’ apology meme to Devin Booker
— James Harden shared a touching postgame moment with Michigan State shooting survivor John Hao
— NBA fans were livid with the officiating down the stretch of the Sixers’ Game 4 win against the Celtics
— NBA fans roasted Suns’ owner Mat Ishbia for embellishing Nikola Jokic’s shove