Andrew Nembhard

Nembhard is a Canadian guard who has carved out a significant role with the Indiana Pacers since being selected 31st overall in 2022. His college career spanned two major programs, a historic SEC freshman assist total, a conference Sixth Man award, and a senior season that landed him on the All-WCC First Team. In the NBA, he has earned a reputation as a low-turnover playmaker with a penchant for clutch shooting and productive spot starts.

Born on January 16, 2000, Nembhard attended Montverde Academy in Florida before committing to the University of Florida. As a freshman, he started every game and recorded the fourth-highest assist total by a freshman in Gators history. He averaged 8.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists, finished fifth in the Southeastern Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio, and earned SEC All-Freshman honors. He also delivered a buzzer-beater to upset LSU in the 2019 SEC tournament.

After declaring for the 2019 draft and withdrawing, Nembhard returned to Florida for his sophomore season. He averaged 11.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.0 rebounds and led the SEC with a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio. He declared for the 2020 draft, hired an NCAA-certified agent to retain flexibility, and withdrew on May 30, 2020, entering the transfer portal. On June 23, 2020, he announced his transfer to Gonzaga, choosing the Bulldogs over Duke, USC, Memphis, Georgetown, and Stanford. He was granted immediate eligibility.

In his first Gonzaga season, he primarily came off the bench yet played more minutes per game than two starters. He averaged 9.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists and was named the West Coast Conference's inaugural Sixth Man of the Year as well as All-WCC Second Team. He helped Gonzaga enter its conference tournament unbeaten. As a senior, he averaged 11.8 points, 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 steals, earning First Team All-WCC honors. He declared for the 2022 draft on April 21.

The Indiana Pacers selected Nembhard with the 31st overall pick. In Summer League, he opened with five points, five rebounds, and five assists in a win over Charlotte. On July 22, 2022, he signed a four-year, .6 million rookie contract, the largest ever given to a second-round selection. On November 28, 2022, he hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 116–115. On December 5, with Tyrese Haliburton sidelined, he scored a career-high 31 points with 13 assists, eight rebounds, and five threes in a win over the Golden State Warriors. He was named a 2023 Rising Star alongside Bennedict Mathurin and recorded multiple 20-point games and double-doubles in March 2023.

Nembhard is a cerebral point guard with elite assist-to-turnover discipline and a reliable mid-range game. He operates the pick-and-roll with patience, reads defensive rotations, and delivers accurate passes to rolling bigs and corner shooters. His three-point shooting improved markedly in the NBA, and he has demonstrated the ability to step up in high-leverage moments. Defensively, he uses positioning and anticipation rather than elite athleticism, keeping ball-handlers in front of him and contesting without fouling excessively.

Nembhard enters the 2025–26 season as a Canadian national team candidate and a Pacers guard with a record-setting second-round rookie contract, a history of clutch shot-making, and a proven capacity to initiate offense when primary creators are unavailable. His path from Florida to Gonzaga to Indiana illustrates a player who maximized each collegiate stop before translating playmaking reliability into NBA rotation value.