Indiana Pacers Don’t Achieve 50-Win Season Without Andrew Nembhard

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers won 50 games this season for the first time in over a decade, achieving a 50-32 record after starting the campaign 10-15. They turned things around in mid-December and will be hosting their first-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.

50 victories is a major accomplishment — it’s one that young wing Johnny Furphy called “pretty cool” in his first season. It took a team effort to get there. Yet there’s little doubt that without young guard Andrew Nembhard, who extended his contract before the season, the Pacers wouldn’t have been nearly as successful.

The Pacers won 61% of their games this season. When Nembhard played, they were 44-21, good for a 67% win percentage that would have ranked fourth in the entire NBA over a full season. Indiana’s net rating was 5.6 points per 100 possessions better with Nembhard on the floor than off.

In 2022, the Pacers selected Nembhard with the first pick during the second round of the NBA Draft. Little did they know, he would be a rotation piece almost instantly. He’s one of the team’s top defenders and routinely takes on the assignment of guarding the opposing team’s best player. The Gonzaga product ranks second on the Pacers in passes and third in drives. Nobody else on the roster matches his mix of ball movement and defense — critical skills for the blue and gold and their quick style.

“I loved my time with Andrew. Extremely competitive, believed in himself. Always takes pride in defending the best player on the other team,” Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez, who coached Nembhard in the Olympics with Team Canada last summer, said of the Pacers young guard. “Obviously, his ability to score as well, his size, it was great to get to coach him.”

For the season, Nembhard averaged 10 points and five assists per game, his first time reaching either benchmark. But per-game numbers sell his impact short. He is routinely referred to as a connector. The 25-year old makes his teammates better. That’s why he is so valuable.

What makes Andrew Nembhard so important to the Indiana Pacers?

Indiana wants to lead the league in passes, and Nembhard adds to that style. His handle takes away pressure from other star players, and he worked on his ability to slow down on drives in order to make plays in the offseason. He moves with pace and guards. That type of player enhances essentially any lineup he’s a part of.

That’s not to say Nembhard is a perfect player. His three-point percentage dipped in a major way this season as he buried less than 30% of his outside shots. At the same time, his turnover rate is too high for someone who plays quasi-point guard. There are nights where his defense isn’t felt as much as others. But more often than not, he does exactly what the Pacers need.

“He’s one of our best on-ball defenders. He can guard really any position. He started against Scottie Barnes one game and maybe one or two others along the way,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Nembhard. “Just a rock solid, physical guy who has a lot of basketball moxie.”

Nembhard’s defense is elite. His teammates campaigned for him to make an All-Defense team this year, and the NBA recognized Nembhard with a Defensive Player of the Month honor in January. The Ontario native ended up falling four games short of the eligibility requirement for All-Defense teams, but many opposing coaches lauded his abilities on the less glamorous end of the floor this season.

Indiana’s defensive numbers were much better with Nembhard on the floor than off. When Nembhard was paired with Myles Turner, the Pacers top frontcourt defender, the blue and gold had a defensive rating that would have pushed top-three in the NBA levels.

“His versatility – whether he’s guarding the ball or guarding off the ball. Usually when a player is that impactful, they’re passionate about defense,” Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder said when asked what makes Nembhard such an impactful defender. “It’s something they’ve internalized about who they are as a player. They have the physical tools to be able to accomplish that.”

Pacers star players are boosted by playing with Nembhard. In theory, the perfect two-guard to place between Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam would be someone who can defend well, pressure the rim, and make jumpers. Nembhard’s jump shot escaped him this season, but he certainly checks the other boxes with the rest of his skills.

The Pacers have a +8.3 net rating when Haliburton and Nembhard are both on the floor together. When Haliburton was on the court without Nembhard, Indiana’s net rating this season was -4.14. With Siakam, it’s largely the same story — the blue and gold have a +10.5 net rating with the two playing together. When Siakam plays without Nembhard, the Pacers net rating tumbles to +1.7.

Nothing about Nembhard’s numbers explode off the page. But the Pacers don’t win 50 games without him. He’s additive in many ways, and Indiana’s season turned around in December right as Nembhard returned from injury.

Now, the third-year guard needs to do it in the playoffs. He was efficient in the postseason last year but had a less-than-expected defensive impact. If his growth on the less glamorous end of the floor this campaign is met with healthy play finishing numbers in the postseason, he will be critical to the Pacers success.

He needs to be sharp. Indiana knows he can be, and his importance this season showed it. “He’s a winning player,” Fernandez said. In the regular season, he proved it. In the playoffs, he needs to again for the Pacers.