There was a very clear winner from the NBA Draft Combine scrimmages, and his name is Andrew Nembhard, a Gonzaga Bulldogs senior combo guard.
The 22 year old had 26 points, 11 assists (the most in a combine scrimmage over the last four years), one steal and just two turnovers during his five-on-five competition Friday. Nembhard dominated the scrimmage, and he looked like the only capable floor general in any of these five-on-five games thus far.
Nembhard was a standout on the court, a visible leader who improved the play of those around him while orchestrating his offense. It was a masterful showing, all things considered.
Andrew Nembhard had the single-most impressive performance of the NBA Combine thus far with 26 points, 11 assists. Made all the right reads out of PNR and had his floater and pullup game working all game long. pic.twitter.com/3qdBlQnZUh
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 20, 2022
But although I was certainly impressed by his performance, I’m not a fan of evaluating seniors based on a single game.
We have a large enough sample size from his four years in college that we can actually pull the data. Let’s take a look at two guys and blindly compare their overall productivity, finishing at the rim, playmaking and defense.
| Player A: 6’4.5″ in shoes, 22.4 years old on draft night | Player B: 6’1.5″ in shoes, 22.9 years old on draft night |
| 10.0 pts | 9.0 pts |
| 2.9 reb | 2.1 reb |
| 5.3 ast | 3.1 ast |
| 62.5 rim % | 62.4 rim % |
| 34.3 3P% | 37.3 3PT% |
| 28.4 AST% | 23.7 AST% |
| 18.9 TOV% | 22.1 TOV% |
| 2.2 STL% | 2.7 STL% |
| 4.5 BPM (Box Plus Minus) | 4.7 BPM (Box Plus Minus) |
Those collegiate career numbers look pretty similar, right? If anything, there is an advantage to the first guy, who is taller and a better playmaker. Both players were high-major recruits who transferred to different schools, and both competed during the Final Four in 2021.
Player B is Davion Mitchell, who was selected as a top-10 overall pick by the Sacramento Kings. Player A, of course, is Nembhard — who is a projected second-rounder on most mock drafts that have included him at all.
I’m not saying that Nembhard will hear his name in the lottery, but even before the combine, I’d say his draft stock was a bit underrated.
One measurement that I like for floor generals is assist-to-usage, which determines how often a player gets an assist relative to how often they had the ball. Among those who were invited to the NBA draft combine this year, Nembhard (1.34) ranked third-best this past season.
But like Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones — to whom Nembhard compared himself on the TV broadcast after the scrimmage concluded — Nembhard’s ball control is where he stands out. Last season, his assist-to-turnover ratio ranked the best among all prospects in this class.
Nembhard isn’t someone I’d peg as having an All-Star ceiling, but if he can have a similar career to someone like Jones, he will have a long professional career.
This class has some interesting guard-like prospects near the top of the class. Some of those names (e.g. Jaden Ivey, Johnny Davis, Dyson Daniels, TyTy Washington, Terquavion Smith, Ryan Rollins) are incredibly talented, but Nembhard is a much more accomplished passer than any of them.
His athleticism isn’t going to blow you away, but his lane agility ranked in the 97th percentile during athletic testing, and it was the second-best time during the combine in 2022.
I’m a fan of Nembhard, and maybe he isn’t a first-rounder. But he could be a great value play as he continues to develop his game at the next level.
