One of the smartest decisions ever from the Indiana organization was drafting Andrew Nembhard. The combo guard has been as clutch as anyone on the floor through the two straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances for the Pacers.
Here are the numbers for the Zag during the 2025 NBA Playoffs:
14.6 points per game
50.5 field goal percentage
50.0 three-point percentage
87.5 free throw percentage
6.0 assists per game
3.4 rebounds per game
1.4 steals per game
Nembhard has only had 11 regular season games out of the 208 in his young career with at least three three-pointers made. Through 27 playoff games, he already has done that 10 times.
He’s not just a perimeter threat but is willing to defend opposing stars like Donovan Mitchell. During the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Cleveland Cavaliers star, Mitchell shot just 10-for-43 (23.3 field goal percentage) when being guarded by Nembhard.
He’s been playing high-level basketball on both ends of the court for the past month or so. The 31st overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft will be looking for a pay day. Nembhard signed a three-year, $59 million extension before the start of this campaign and it still seems like he’s undervalued. He becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2027-28 season.
In other NBA Playoff news, Oklahoma City and Chet Holmgren are one win away from reaching the Western Conference Finals. How cool is it going to be having two Zags in each respective conference finals no matter the outcome? Denver’s Julian Strawther would move on if somehow the Thunder were to give up this 3-2 series lead.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho
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