Pacers to sign Andrew Nembhard to a four-year, $8.6 million contract

The Indiana Pacers are signing Andrew Nembhard to a four-year, $8.6 million contract.

The rookie was the first pick of the 2022 NBA Draft (31st overall).

The Pacers will guarantee Nembhard a $6.4 million of his contract. That’s a record amount of guaranteed money for a second-round selected out of college.

Nembhard played two seasons at Gonzaga, after transferring from Florida. In 32 games (all starts) as a senior, Nembhard averaged 11.8 points, 5.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game for the Bulldogs.

The Canadian-born point guard started five games for the Pacers at Las Vegas Summer League. In those five contests, Nembhard averaged 6.6 points, four rebounds and five assists.

The news was reported by Jonathan Givony on Twitter.

Per Wikipedia, Nembhard was recruited to the University of Florida from Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. In his freshman season with the Gators, he started every game and tallied the fourth-highest freshman assist total in school history.

On June 23, 2020, Nembhard announced that he would transfer to Gonzaga. He chose the Bulldogs over offers from Duke, USC, Memphis, Georgetown and Stanford. He was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on November 24.

In his first Gonzaga season, he primarily came off the bench (though he played more minutes per game than two Bulldogs starters), averaging 9.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game for a team that entered its conference tournament unbeaten. Nembhard was named the West Coast Conference’s inaugural Sixth Man of the Year, and was also named to the all-conference second team. He averaged 11.8 points, 5.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game as a senior. Nembhard was named to the First Team All-WCC. On April 21, 2022, Nembhard declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.