Ryan Nembhard 2025 NBA Draft Profile

Ryan Nembhard 2025 NBA Draft Profile

We are less than one week away from the 2025 NBA Draft! Today, we will be previewing Gonzaga’s Ryan Nembhard, the brother of current Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. Let’s jump right into it!

Height (no shoes): 5’11 (6’2.25 wingspan, 7’1 standing reach)

Weight: 175.8 lbs

Draft Age: 22.3

Position: Guard

As a four-star recruit out of Montverde High School in Montverde, Fla., Nembhard was a top-70 player in the 2021 recruiting class after reclassifying. He ultimately chose Creighton over Florida, Seton Hall, USC and Ohio State, among others, according to 247sports.com.

Nembhard spent his first two seasons with the Blue Jays, averaging 11.8 points and 6.6 assists while winning the Big East Rookie of the Year award in 2021-22. He eventually transferred to Gonzaga, where Andrew played, and became a two-time WCC member. He led the conference in assists as a junior and led the nation in assists as a senior, in addition to averaging 10.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and a WCC-most 1.7 steals per game on 54.7 percent true shooting.

Let’s dive into his profile!

Profile:

Nembhard is small–like, super small. Being 5-foot-11, 175 pounds with only a 6-2 wingspan is quite alarming.

There is a certain level of pure speed, athleticism, skill and defensive fortitude that you must have if you want to succeed as a small guard in the NBA. Nembhard’s going to get hunted like a deer and there is a world where he could struggle to stay on the floor if he’s not an elite offensive player. His brother is a half-foot taller than him and it was an uphill climb to find his footing.

What he makes up for in size is his quickness–Nembhard doesn’t apply a ton of rim pressure, but what he does do is play with plenty of pace. Gonzaga was one of the most up-tempo offenses in the country last year, and Nembhard’s quick decision-making fueled the fire.

Nembhard is one of the best passers in the back-half of this draft, averaging 9.8 assists to just 2.5 turnovers last season; he’s one of the best pure playmakers in this class, especially in the pick-and-roll, and didn’t seem too fazed when opposing defenders tried to blitz/trap him above-the-break.

While he’s ultra-quick, I do have concerns about how Nembhard will be able to hunt his shot if he’s not an efficient 3-point shooter. He shot 40.4 percent from 3-point range (2.7 3PA) after shooting just 33.2 percent from distance in his first three seasons, but his lack of size and could limit his self-creation upside if he regresses anywhere back to the mean.

Projection: UDFA

I love Ryan Nembhard’s competitiveness, pace and speed, but his margin for error at the next level is microscopic. He can score and make his teammates better, but you have to play both sides, and I have a hard time seeing him survive in an NBA context.

***

Click Here for more NBA Content

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop

Check out Vendetta Fantasy Contests