Andrew Nembhard put together the kind of season that usually earns a player a spot on these lists. HoopsHype didn’t see it that way.
The outlet left the Pacers guard off its ranking of the 27 best NBA point guards for 2026-27, even after Nembhard posted career highs across the board last season. He was one of four players named just outside the cut, alongside Fred VanVleet, Kingston Flemings and Davion Mitchell.
Nembhard’s numbers told a pretty strong story. In 31.3 minutes per game, he averaged 16.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists, while shooting 44.2% from the field, 36.1% from three and 82.5% at the line.
His true shooting percentage checked in at 56.4%. Before that jump, he had been at 11.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists.
He also logged 11 double-doubles and delivered one of his biggest stat lines against the Los Angeles Lakers, finishing with 14 points and 19 assists in a 137-130 loss. That assist total was a career high, and only Tyrese Haliburton, Jamaal Tinsley, Mark Jackson and Jalen Rose have ever reached 19 assists in a game for Indiana.
The heavy lift came because the Pacers needed it. Haliburton missed the entire season after tearing his right Achilles in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and that pushed more of the offense onto Nembhard while he shared the backcourt with Bennedict Mathurin. Before the season, Nembhard told Joshua Heron of The Indianapolis Star that handling the ball full time was a new challenge after spending most of four seasons off it.
"It changes my whole perception of the game," Nembhard said.
There was one drawback to his season: availability. Nembhard missed 25 games, and a back issue sidelined him for the final seven games of the regular season.
He was healthy enough to suit up for Canada in July, though, and made the most of it with 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 5-of-7 from three in a 110-84 World Cup qualifying win over Puerto Rico.
Indiana selected Nembhard 31st overall in 2022 out of Gonzaga. At Gonzaga, he became the West Coast Conference’s first Sixth Man of the Year as a junior and later made the All-WCC First Team as a senior. He turned 26 in January.
Haliburton landed seventh on HoopsHype’s point guard list, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Dončić, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Maxey and Stephen Curry. HoopsHype also had Ivica Zubac at No. 46 on its list of the 50 greatest European players.
Pacers training camp opens Sept. 29. The regular season starts Oct. 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans, and Indiana’s home opener is Oct. 23 against Dallas.
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