Pacers Star Named East Defensive Player of the Month

It's a major honor for the Indiana standout.
Jan 12, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) celebrates with forward Pascal Siakam (43) and center Myles Turner (33) after a basket during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Jan 12, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) celebrates with forward Pascal Siakam (43) and center Myles Turner (33) after a basket during the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
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Indiana Pacers standout wing Andrew Nembhard has been honored as the league's Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for January, the Pacers have announced via their official X account.

Second-year Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson was honored as the Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for the same period.

As Indiana notes in a team press statement, the Pacers logged the East's top defensive rating for January, going 10-2 that month. Across those 12 contests, the Pacers outscored rival players by 10.3 points a night, while permitted 109.2 points per bout. Nembhard averaged 1.9 steals in his 11 starts with Indiana that month.

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Since December 13, the Pacers have gone 18-5. The team has improved to a 28-20 record for 2024-25, and currently occupies the No. 4 seed in the conference. Through their past 23 bouts, the Pacers have notched the league's fifth-best defensive rating. Indiana has permitted 111.6 points a night in those bouts.

Nembhard has been the fulcrum of Indiana's wing defense during this recent run of success. Being named to a Defensive Player of the Month team is an indicator that the league at large has noticed Nembhard's contributions on that side of the floor, and quickly fast-tracks him for inclusion in one of the NBA's 10 All-Defensive Team slots at year's end.

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Pacers power forward Pascal Siakam and center Myles Turner are the other top defenders on the club. Siakam, just named to his third All-Star team this year (and his first with Indiana), is the marquee name and a solid defender in his own right.

In 32 overall games this season, the 6-foot-5 Gonzaga product is averaging 10.9 points on .478/.346/.756 shooting splits, 5.3 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals a night for the Pacers.

Indiana, which has won eight of its last 10 contests, is hoping to nab its fifth consecutive victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Despite sporting a middling 21-29 record, Portland has also been pretty frisky of late. The Trail Blazers are also on a four-game win streak and have also gone 8-2 in their last 10 bouts.

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For all the latest news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, stay tuned to Pacers On SI.


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Alex Kirschenbaum
ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Basketball is Alex's favorite sport, he likes the way they dribble up and down the court.