Andrew Nembhard and Ryan Nembhard may finally share an NBA stage Saturday, and the setting makes the family moment even bigger. The Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets are set to meet at Arena CDMX in Mexico City, giving the brothers a chance to face each other for the first time as professionals if both are on the floor.
For Ryan, the idea has been on the radar for a long time.
“It’s gonna be cool,” Ryan Nembhard said. “Pops is gonna come down, watch, and it’ll just be fun to see him out here.
Obviously, a goal of ours to be in this league and play together, [or] play against each other. So it’ll be fun.”
The two grew up in Aurora, Ont., and both played at Gonzaga, with the brothers separated by three years. NBA.com noted that Saturday would be their first head-to-head meeting as pros if they both get minutes.
Andrew got to the NBA first, with Indiana selecting him in the second round in 2022. He’s in the middle of his best season yet, averaging 19 points and 6.9 assists while shooting 39.5% from 3.
He led the Pacers with 22 points in Wednesday’s 107-103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, a result that snapped Indiana’s five-game skid. He went 8-of-15 in that game.
Indiana will be shorthanded again. Tyrese Haliburton stayed in Indianapolis instead of traveling with the team as he continues to recover from a strained left hamstring.
T.J. McConnell has made progress and was upgraded to questionable as he works back from his own hamstring strain.
With those guards out, rookie Braden Smith has been starting at point guard alongside Andrew.
Ryan’s path has taken a different route. He’s in his second NBA season after appearing in 60 games as a rookie with the Dallas Mavericks, where he began on a two-way deal out of Gonzaga and finished on a standard contract.
Since signing with Denver on Sept. 30, he has played three games for the Nuggets and spent most of his time with the G League’s Grand Rapids Gold. For his career, he’s averaging 6.4 points and 5.0 assists.
Mexico City is not new territory for him. Ryan said he first played at Arena CDMX with Dallas a year earlier, when the Mavericks lost 122-110 to Detroit on Nov. 1, 2025.
“It’s been a nice experience,” Nembhard explained. “I was able to come out here last year with the Mavs and kind of experience it for the first time.
So it’s nice to be back out here. A lot of love from everybody.
Great atmosphere during the game. So I’m excited.”
He also admitted the language part of the trip isn’t exactly his strong suit.
“Terrible,” Nembhard said. “I’m Canadian.”
And if anyone was hoping he had a polished greeting ready for the crowd, he shut that down too.
“I do French,” he said. “I don’t do Spanish.”
Denver will be missing Julian Strawther, who played with Andrew at Gonzaga and is out with a left knee sprain. DeMar DeRozan, who sat out Wednesday with lower back spasms, is probable.
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For a Pacers group trying to keep its rhythm while juggling injuries, Haliburtons absence changes everything from pace to late-game organization. Indiana has had to keep moving without him while also monitoring the rest of the roster, and the latest update only adds to the sense that the team is still waiting for its full identity to come together. [Read more 🡒]
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