Why did Pacers' Andrew Nembhard fall to second round in 2022 draft? Scouts doubted his potential as scorer

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam garner many of the headlines, but one of the most underrated pieces of the Indiana Pacers success is Andrew Nembhard.

The Gonzaga product has become a force as a scorer and a distributor out of the backcourt. 

Nembhard is a big reason why the Pacers have found playoff success, but he wasn't always projected to play this big of a role in it.

Why did Andrew Nembhard fall to second round in 2022 NBA Draft?

Nembhard spent two years at Florida before transferring to Gonzaga where he played his final two seasons. 

He averaged 10 points and 5.3 assists per game in college before being taken 31st overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Pacers.

The Sporting News gave Indiana an 'A' grade for their draft with Bennedict Mathurn, Nembhard, and Kendall Brown.

"Nembhard is a pure floor general who will have a long career in the league as a reserve guard," TSN's Kyle Irving wrote.

A quality reserve guard was the general consensus on Nembhard's ceiling leading up to the draft. He was more of a floor general and a connector throughout his college career. Scouts questioned what tangible contributions he could make to an NBA team.

"Lacks elite level speed and athleticism for the NBA game," NBADraft.net wrote in its scouting report. "Jump shot only just recently came around and isn’t a major part of his game."

He also battled a minor quad injury during the 2022 NBA Combine. 

He pushed through it for testing but he missed the first day of scrimmages. 

But it didn't take Nembhard long to break the mold once he was given the chance.

He became a started in Indiana his rookie season, starting 60+ games, the most for a rookie since 2001-02.

Only a few years into his career and Nembhard is finding his shot. He led Indiana with 23 points on 7-10 shooting (5-6 3pt) in their game one win over the Cavaliers in the playoffs. 

2024-25 was the first year that the guard finished the season averaging 10 points or more, but the future is bright for Andrew Nembhard.

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