Tag: Andrew Nembhard

Former Gonzaga guard takes over for Canada in win over Spain

Andrew Nembhard led Team Canada to a victory over Spain with a dominant stretch in the fourth quarter.

It’s been a great year for Andrew Nembhard.

The Indiana Pacers guard first made headlines with an outstanding performance in the NBA playoffs, averaging 14.9 points and 5.5 assists including a pair of monster performances against the Boston Celtics when Tyrese Haliburton was sidelined.

The former Gonzaga guard parlayed that success into a lucrative extension with the Pacers, as well as a spot on Team Canada’s Olympic national team alongside star guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray.

On Friday he proved exactly what he can bring for Canada’s medal hopes, ensuring the country would go undefeated in group play with an outstanding performance in a win over Spain.

Nembhard finished with 18 points, second on the team behind Gilgeous-Alexander, while tacking on two assists and one steal.

He was a menace particularly out in transition, scoring back-to-back fastbreak layups in the fourth quarter and swinging momentum back Canada’s way at a critical juncture.

Nembhard was not just getting after it in transition, he hit a highly contested three point shot as the shot clock expired and finished 8-10 from the field. His facilitation skills opened up Canada’s offense, and proved he belongs on the floor for this team in close matchups.

Canada advances to the quarterfinals as they look to medal against strong competition in France, Serbia, and the United States.

Former Gators hoop standout earns big payday with Indiana Pacers

Former Gator Andrew Nembhard has it made in the shade after a spectacular performance in the playoffs for the Pacers.

Former Florida basketball standout [autotag]Andrew Nembhard[/autotag] signed a three-year, $59 million contract extension with the Indiana Pacers that will take him through the 2027-28 season, Todd Ramasar and Jaafar Choufani of Life Sports Agency told ESPN on Wednesday morning.

He agreed to the maximum allowable money available and Indiana will decline his $2.2 team option in 2025-26, allowing the new deal to begin for him next year. The former Gator became eligible to sign the deal on Monday.

Nemhard, who is originally from Canada and attended Montverde Academy in Central Florida, played his first two collegiate seasons with the Orange and Blue before transferring to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in 2020. He spent the next two seasons with the Zags before being picked with the 31st overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 2022 NBA draft.

Since joining the NBA, he has averaged 9.3 points while dishing out 4.3 assists and grabbing 2.4 rebounds per game in 26.4 minutes played per regular season game. Appearing in 143 games the past two seasons, Nembhard has started 110 of them, noting that he switched positions from shooting to point guard last year.

The guard had a breakout performance in the 2024 Eastern Conference playoffs, starting all 17 games while averaging 14.9 points and 5.5 assists on 56% shooting in the Pacers’ deep playoff run.

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Andrew Nembhard was the biggest winner of the Eastern Conference Finals, even despite getting swept

Andrew Nembhard deserves to get PAID.

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard got an opportunity to showcase his game on one of the biggest stages, and he didn’t disappoint.

After an injury Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered earlier in the series, Nembhard had a chance to showcase what he could provide in a bigger role against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

This was no easy task as the Celtics have had one of the best offenses and defenses in the league this season, but Nembhard rose to the occasion and played very well despite Boston sweeping Indiana to advance to the 2024 NBA Finals.

Nembhard averaged 28.0 points. 5.0 rebounds and 9.5 assists during his two games in the starting lineup against Boston. This was far better than expected but not particularly shocking to those paying close attention, either.

Before he was selected in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft, we wrote about why Nembhard was one of the top point guards in his class. Then after his first professional campaign last year, we wrote about him getting snubbed for All-Rookie consideration.

After signing the richest rookie contract ever for a second-round pick after he was selected, Nembhard has already shown tremendous value as a pro. Just a couple years later, it already looks like one of the most valuable deals in the NBA.

Nembhard has set himself up very nicely for a lucrative pay day when he is eligible to receive it.

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Former Gators standout sinks amazing 31-foot shot for NBA Playoffs win

A heckuva shot from a heckuva player on Friday night.

The Indiana Pacers needed someone to step up on Friday night inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the New York Knicks, and one unexpected player made it count when it mattered most.

Former Florida Gators guard [autotag]Andrew Nembhard[/autotag] was the man of the moment, draining a 31-foot three-pointer to break a 106-all tie with the final seconds of the clock ticking away. Trailing in the series 2-0 coming in, the Pacers needed a miracle to stay afloat and 24-year-old out of Montverde Acadamy in Clermont was a vessel for divine intervention.

Indy ended up prevailing over New York, 111–106, following a missed three-point attempt on the ensuing possession and a pair of Aaron Nesmith free throws to seal the deal.

“Huge shot by him, huge shot,” teammate Tyrese Haliburton said of Nembhard’s three-pointer to ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters after the game. “We just dug in and made enough plays at the end, and he made a big shot there.”

Game four of the semifinals will take place on Sunday, May 12, in Indianapolis with a tipoff time slated for 3:30 p.m. ET.

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Andrew Nembhard listed as ‘last-minute trade target’ idea for Spurs

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard was suggested as a potential San Antonio Spurs trade target.

It seems unlikely that the San Antonio Spurs will make any huge trades at this year’s deadline, but adding some depth at positions of need could be a worthwhile strategy, as could selling some veteran players who may not be in the team’s long-term plan. The point is that there are some trade ideas that make sense.

The point guard position has been a contentious topic throughout Spurs discourse this year, as they’ve gone through a few different options at that spot. Jeremy Sochan wasn’t the right fit, and while Tre Jones has been solid, adding depth at the position could help them figure out a long-term solution.

Dan Favale of Bleacher Report wrote a list of five “last-minute trade targets” for every team around the league, and one of the guys he mentioned for the Spurs was Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard.

“Nembhard may be too important to the win-now Indiana Pacers as a reserve playmaker and defensive try-hard. Still, the Spurs have a peppering of good-not-great draft picks to peddle if Indy’s looking to restock its cupboard on the heels of the Pascal Siakam trade,” Favale wrote.

With Tyrese Haliburton dealing with some injuries this season, Nembhard has had to step up into a bigger role at times this year, even starting some games in the All-Star’s place. He’s played pretty well in his sophomore season.

The 24-year-old is averaging 8.9 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists while shooting 48.3% from the floor and 32.1% from beyond the three-point arc. Nembhard’s ability to play on and off the ball would also be a useful tool in San Antonio.

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Projected starters for the Pacers after a big trade united Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton

This was a huge move for the Pacers!

The Indiana Pacers made a swing for the fences and acquired two-time All-Star forward Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors.

Although it is still unclear if Siakam will sign a contract extension with the Pacers or if he will test free agency this offseason, Indiana will instantly become one of the most interesting teams in the Eastern Conference once Tyrese Haliburton can return from his injury.

When this team is fully healthy, they have a fascinating starting lineup that could potentially make a run much like they did during the NBA’s In-Season Tournament.

Here is what they will likely have on the court when their ideal starting five is ready to play together:

10 bold preseason predictions revisited from the 2022 NBA draft

Rookie Wire offered 10 bold predictions for the 2022-23 season in October and vowed to come back to see how we did.

Back in October, Rookie Wire offered 10 bold predictions for the 2022-23 season based on the available information and vowed to come back and see how we did.

Well, the time has come to look back and review the results.

We started this exercise prior to the 2019-20 season, which was our inaugural class on Rookie Wire, and we have kept up with it each year since then. Our annual revisit of these bold predictions can serve as a fun way to provide some sort of accountability around here.

This year proved no different.

We once again hit on some of our predictions but fell well short of the mark on others. In our defense, to be fair, we were very close on several of these. We just ask that you go easy on us and don’t alert the authorities at Freezing Cold Takes about the ones we missed badly on.

Here is how we fared last season.

Pacers’ Andrew Nembhard missed earning All-Rookie honors by one single vote

This race was incredibly close!

Welcome to Layup Lines, our basketball newsletter where we’ll prep you for the tip-off of tonight’s action, from what to watch to bets to make. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox.

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.

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

(Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)

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

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

(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

Creighton transfer Ryan Nembhard commits to play at Gonzaga

Nembhard chose Gonzaga over several programs, including Arizona, Alabama and UCF among others.

Former Creighton guard Ryan Nembhard told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he has committed to play next season at Gonzaga after two seasons with the Bluejays.

Nembhard, the brother of Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard, was voted to the All-Big East second team after averaging 12.1 points, 4.8 assists and four rebounds as a sophomore. He ranked 24th in the country in assists (176) and 52nd in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.29).

The 6-foot guard was viewed as one of the top players in the transfer portal and projects to be a good addition to the Zags next season. He chose Gonzaga over several programs, including Arizona, Alabama and UCF.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrTQypPuC54/

Nembhard said his brother helped persuade him to transfer to Gonzaga after Andrew Nembhard played two seasons for head coach Mark Few. Of course, Andrew Nembhard became the No. 31 pick in the NBA draft last year and had a productive year with the Pacers.

With Ryan Nembhard now in the fold, the Bulldogs will look to make yet another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. The program has advanced to the Sweet 16 eight straight times and will likely be a favorite again in the West Coast Conference.

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Pacers rookies help put Canada basketball on the map on historic night

Andrew Nembhard produced a double-double and helped make some history for his country in a win over the Raptors.

Indiana Pacers rookie Andrew Nembhard produced a double-double on Wednesday and helped make some history for his country in a win over the Toronto Raptors.

The contest was the first for Nembhard and fellow Canadian Bennedict Mathurin in Toronto this season. Nembhard, a native of Aurora, Ontario, and Mathurin, from Montreal, Quebec, each grew up watching the Raptors and had a little extra in the contest.

They each played a key role in the win, too.

Nembhard produced a team-high 25 points, 10 assists and two rebounds in the 118-114 victory, and Mathurin added 15 points. Nembhard registered his third double-double of the season and his second game with at least 25 points and 10 assists with the performance.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle marveled at the effort by Nembhard.

To do it tonight in, essentially, his hometown — it was his first time back here. As a kid, he used to come to the games and sit in the third level. To be in the starting lineup and have this kind of game, it is just an amazing night for him and his family.

Along with Nembhard and Mathurin, Carlisle also opted to insert Toronto native Oshae Brissett into the starting lineup in the contest. It marked the first time three Canadians started on the same team in an NBA game.

The trio helped the Pacers get out to an early 13-point lead. Fittingly, Brissett scored the first points of the game as the Pacers snapped a 15-game regular-season losing streak in Toronto. He finished with nine points and six rebounds.

“It was an honor for me, Drew and Oshae to play in Canada for the first time,” Mathurin said. “I’ve had a lot of pretty good moments and I’m looking forward to having many more.”

Said Nembhard: “It means a little bit more this game for us three.”

The two first-year players were understandably excited to play their first game in Toronto. But to join Brissett and make some history in the process was likely a moment they’ll never forget as Canada continues to make its presence felt in the sport.

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