LAS VEGAS鈥擣ans packed the Thomas and Mack Center on the opening night of Summer League to watch the much-anticipated battle between Cooper Flagg and Bronny James.
But they left learning more about Ryan Nembhard, the聽Aurora, Ont., native who was little more than an afterthought when the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the L.A. Lakers began.
The six-foot point guard dropped a game-high 21 points with five assists for the Mavs in his Summer League debut and had observers wondering how the younger brother of Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard went undrafted.
“I just want to come in and be aggressive every single game,” the 22-year-old Nembhard said. “Try to make plays for the team, try to score the ball. Obviously the gravity around (Cooper), everyone was loading up on him, making it tough on him, so it opened up things for other guys.”
Despite a gruelling pre-draft process that saw him work out for 20 different NBA teams, Nembhard’s name wasn’t called out on draft night. That wasn’t a big surprise, he wasn’t on many mock draft boards despite some observers suggesting he could be a good value pick in the second round.
Teams had expressed interest in drafting Nembhard, but his inner circle was more concerned about fit. Not getting drafted gave him a chance to choose his destination.聽
Nembhard sifted through the options and decided to sign聽聽with the Dallas Mavericks.
鈥淥nce you get later in the draft, it鈥檚 a bunch of (two-way contracts that aren’t fully guaranteed) so you want to go to the right spot that feels like you have an ability to play for their program and ability to impact winning over there so I felt like that was the spot for me,鈥 said Nembhard, who studied how players like聽former Raptors guard Fred VanVleet were able to carve out a fruitful career in the NBA despite going undrafted.
Dallas didn鈥檛 have a second round pick and wasn’t able to trade for one. The Mavs were聽very fond of Nembhard throughout the pre-draft process and had a hole to fill at point guard with superstar Kyrie Irving expected to miss most of the 2025-26 season with a torn ACL in his left knee.
鈥淚 think they showed the most love. I think they really wanted me. They showed the most care for me, and I felt like I had a chance to come do something over here,鈥 Nembhard said.
Nembhard wanted a place that meshed well with his style of play as a high IQ player, who left college basketball as one of the premier playmakers at Gonzaga. He led Gonzaga to a West Coast Conference tournament title this year and finished fifth all-time in NCAA single-season assists with 344.
Sitting courtside to take in Nembhard’s first summer league game were his brother and father Claude. The two were seen celebrating after Nembhard hit a clutch three off a kick-out pass from Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
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鈥淲e don鈥檛 get a chance to do this very often, meaning be together at games because Andrew鈥檚 playing and Ryan鈥檚 been at school, so this rarely happens,鈥 Claude said. 鈥淗e was excited for his little brother. They鈥檙e very, very close, so to see his brother play so well ... it was just nice. Really nice to show out.鈥
After the game, Flagg had high praise for his lesser-heralded teammate.
鈥淚 love playing with him,” Flagg said. 鈥淩yan impacts the game on a really high level on both sides of the ball. Just picking up 94 (feet), getting into their point guard. Rotating, flying around the court with a really high IQ. He just plays with a really good feel for the game.鈥
Nembhard had a quieter second game at Summer League on Saturday, with two points on 1-of-10 shooting and seven assists in 31 minutes, while Flagg exploded for 31 points in the much-hyped prospect’s last game before being shut down.
The hesitation for most NBA teams with Nembhard was whether his lack of size could be a barrier to success at the NBA level. Last week, on LeBron James and Steve Nash鈥檚 podcast 鈥淢ind the Game,鈥 Kevin Durant talked about how small guards don鈥檛 exist much in the league anymore unless they鈥檙e a “bulldog” on defence.聽
Kevin Durant:
鈥 NBA Retweet (@RTNBA)
"I don't know if the 6'2' and under guard is at a premium no more, as a starter." 馃憖
via , h/t
It鈥檚 not a concern for Mavericks summer league head coach Josh Broghamer. He鈥檚 been raving about Nembhard all week.
鈥淣ormally, you want to get your smallest guy out to get a stop at the end of the game. We want him in because he鈥檚 tough, he鈥檚 smart, he鈥檚 going to make the right play, he鈥檚 going to fight,鈥 Broghamer said.
Nembhard joins a Mavericks team with a familiar face in his corner. The Nembhard family knows recently hired Mavericks assistant coach Jay Triano quite well. Triano is a former head coach of Canada鈥檚 national team who first called up Andrew to the senior level.聽
Claude is soaking up the moment watching his youngest son play at Summer League.
鈥淣ot many dads can say that they have two kids in the league, so I鈥檓 really, really excited for the journey and what鈥檚 going to happen for both of them,鈥 Claude said.聽
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