Gonzaga's Andrew Nembhard goes No. 31 to the Indiana Pacers
Nembhard is the second guard taken by Indiana after Bennedict Mathurin from Arizona went No. 6 overall (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images).
Former Gonzaga guard Andrew Nembhard will be returning to a city he’s familiar with after the 2021 NCAA tournament, having been selected No. 31 overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 2022 NBA Draft. Nembhard becomes the first Zag ever to be drafted by the Pacers and will now get the chance to play in the Gainbridge Fieldhouse where Domantas Sabonis was a staple of the franchise for four and a half seasons.
The Pacers’ selection of the Bob Cousy award finalist christened the second round and makes it 2-for-2 on Gonzaga players that entered this year’s draft being selected. Chet Holmgren was taken with the second overall pick by the Orlando Magic earlier in the night, becoming the highest ever Zag selected in the NBA draft.
Nembhard will now get the chance to put his four years of college experience to work in Indiana as he tries to crack a into a rotation that could feature Tyreese Haliburton, Malcolm Brogden and Ricky Rubio next season. Nembhard is also joined by University of Arizona product Bennedict Mathurin, who was coached last year by former Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd and who will also look to get minutes at guard and small forward for the Pacers.
Nembhard was the fifth true point guard off the board in the 2022 draft, after Jaden Ivey (No. 5 Detroit), Dyson Daniels (No. 8 New Orleans), Wendall Moore Jr. (No. 26 Minnesota) and TyTy Washington Jr. (No. 29, Houston). Known for his cerebral capabilities and distribution skills, Nembhard was harangued by critics heading into the pre-draft process for his inconsistent shooting and below average play speed.
However, the Florida Gators transfer put those rumors to bed at the NBA Combine. He put up the most points in a game of any player during the scrimmages with a 26 point, 11 assist and one steal performance, while commanding the floor and pace of play the entire contest. Nembhard also posted the fastest lane agility time out of the all point guards at the competition and the third fastest shuttle run time.
Nembhard worked out with the Pacers on June 15th before being selected by them with the team’s second pick of the draft. Along with Mathurin and Nembhard, the Pacers have one more pick slated at No. 58 to round out this year’s draft.
Last season as a senior at Gonzaga, he put up career highs in points in assists at 11.8 and 5.8 a contest respectively, and he shot above 45% from the field. The all-West Coast Conference first team guard has even compared himself to Memphis Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones, and Nembhard looks to produce off the bench in a similar fashion to Jones for the Pacers next season.
