INDIANAPOLIS – After an injury sidelined Tyrese Haliburton in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Indiana Pacers needed someone to step up.
Second-year guard Andrew Nembhard showed he was more than up to the task—and the Pacers have rewarded him with a contract extension.
Nembhard agreed on a three-year, $59 million extension through the 2027-2028 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The report indicated the contract is the maximum allowable money currently available to Nembhard.
The Pacers will decline his player option for 2025-2026, allowing the new deal to kick in next season, the report said.
The Pacers took Nembhard with the 31st pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. The Gonzaga guard started 47 games during the regular season. He averaged 9.2 points and 4.1 assists while shooting 49.8% from the field (35.7% from 3-point range).
He was an integral part of the Pacers’ unexpected and deep playoff run, upping those averages to 14.9 points and 5.5 assists per game. He shot 56% from the field in the postseason (48.3% from 3-point range).
Nembhard provided one of the most memorable moments in Pacers postseason history when he sank a long 3-pointer with 17.8 seconds left to help the Pacers beat the Knicks in Game 3 of their playoff series. Nembhard had struggled from the field the entire game.
Had the Pacers lost, they would’ve fallen into a 3-0 hole. Nembhard’s shot gave them momentum; the team went on to win the series in seven games.
An injury to Tyrese Haliburton forced the All-Star to sit out games 3 and 4 against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Nembhard, thrust into a larger role, scored a career-high 32 points in Game 3 and followed it up with a 24-point effort in Game 4.
The Celtics ended up sweeping the Pacers, but Nembhard’s effectiveness was impossible to overlook, putting the rest of the NBA on notice. The extension allows the Pacers to lock up another core player; the team also re-signed Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin in the offseason.
Nembhard is currently playing for the Canadian national team in the Paris Olympics.