INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – NOVEMBER 06: Andrew Nembhard #2 and Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers celebrate in the fourth quarter against the Orlando Magic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on November 06, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Pacers 26-year old Andrew Nembhard grew up a point guard. In college, he played that position, leading the West Coast Conference in assists per game during his final NCAA season with the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Yet ever since the Pacers selected him 31st overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, Nembhard has operated as a secondary creator next to another point guard. The Canadian is four years and nearly 7,500 minutes into his NBA career – more than 4,300 of those minutes have come alongside another point guard, usually Tyrese Haliburton or T.J. McConnell.
And even that number doesn’t tell the story of Nembhard’s positional journey well. In the most recent season, Haliburton didn’t play a single minute while McConnell missed 26 games. Nembhard operated more as a point guard in 2025-26 as a result. Before that campaign, 73% of his regular season minutes came alongside either McConnell or Haliburton. That ratio suggests he’s been more of a nominal shooting guard than point guard in the pros.
In the coming season, Haliburton will return. McConnell will be the backup point guard. Nembhard’s old starting role will be there for him. And yet, he spent all of the 2025-26 season playing point guard and sharpening his lead ball handler skills. Can those translate to a different position with different responsibilities?
That’s what Nembhard will hope to show in the coming season. “I think I’ve grown as a leader off the court. On the court… I think the three-ball,” Nembhard said of his improvements in the most recent season. “I think I took a lot of difficult threes and raised my percentage, which is exciting going forward.”
Nembhard is right in that more of his outside shots were off-the-dribble looks last season. 50.9% of his shots were pull-ups, per NBA.com tracking, a big increase over his 34.9% rate in 2024-25. Even with that increase in difficulty, Nembhard canned 36.2% of his outside shots last year, a career-best mark that pales in comparison to his playoff accuracy. With Haliburton back, Nembhard’s three-point attempts should be much easier in the coming season. He will be better equipped to make them.
How else can Andrew Nembhard improve for the Pacers?
There’s also a path to more playmaking responsibilities for Nembhard. Haliburton is healthy, but his impact level to start the campaign after missing a season with a torn Achilles is unknown. “We’re also patient about this as well, because you’re away from the game for as long as he’ll be away, once he steps back on the floor, it’s not going to be instantly back to Tyrese,” general manager Chad Buchanan said of Haliburton. “And I think we all have to have some grace with him.”
McConnell turns 35 this season. Bennedict Mathurin, who had the ball a fair amount the last few years, is gone. The Pacers guard room may require more of Nembhard.
TORONTO, ON – MARCH 22: Andrew Nembhard #2 and T.J. McConnell #9 of the Indiana Pacers speak in a break in play against the Toronto Raptors during the second half of their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on March 22, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
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His college role(s) suggests he can handle it. So does his 2025-26 season with Indiana. Nembhard averaged 7.7 assists per game last season, good for ninth in the entire league. He took his lead ball handler responsibilities in stride.
That stat might sell his jump in passing acumen short. The now fifth-year pro ranked fifth in assists per game from January 1 onward, finishing as one of the only two non-All-Star players (Josh Giddey) in the top seven for the year 2026. His ball movement improvements were noticeable, and impressive.
On March 25, he had 19 assists against the Los Angeles Lakers. At the time, he became just the 11th player since he was drafted to reach at least 19 assists in a game – his brother Ryan became the 12th about three weeks later.
That level of passing savvy is hard to reach (though Haliburton sometimes makes it look easy). Nembhard had 10+ assists 14 times last season, he did that only 11 times in the first three seasons of his career combined. Those numbers better show his change in responsibility last year.
And yet, his role projects to revert back to what it used to be in 2026-27 – or at least something similar. So what exactly will Nembhard’s progress as a passer mean for the coming year? Will it help him in an off-ball environment?
“I think the biggest thing it [gave] me reps in different situations handling the ball, getting more comfortable, more confident in those situations,” Nembhard said of how the 2025-26 season could help him going forward. “And in times where [opponents] are guarding Tyrese (Haliburton) tight like they usually do, I’ll be more comfortable in those situations.”
Haliburton and Nembhard played together for almost 1,500 minutes in 2024-25, and the Pacers outscored their opponents by 8.33 points per 100 possessions in those instances. That backcourt guided the Pacers through the playoffs as Indiana won the Eastern Conference, then nearly the title.
Now, they’ll look to repeat that success with a different version of both guards. Haliburton has a new body to figure out. Nembhard has tweaked his strengths and will need to apply them to the new-look version of the Pacers.
Nembhard grew mentally last season, too. “I think just the ability to show up every day and compete and do what you need to do to be professional and what the team needs to win,” he said of his improvements mentally during a 19-63 season.
Nembhard is one of many Pacers players currently in Nashville, Tennessee for a player-led minicamp. It’s the unofficial start to the 2026-27 season for Indiana as they try to recapture their winning ways. A step forward from Nembhard would make that more plausible.
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