Back in early February, the Dallas Mavericks sent a shockwave throughout the sports world, trading its 25-year-old megastar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package that included Anthony Davis. Shock and outrage engulfed Mavs fans, who were left wondering why then-General Manager Nico Harrison would ever trade a franchise cornerstone for an aging star in Davis.
Harrison was promptly relieved of his duties on Nov. 11 as the Mavericks stumbled to a 3-8 start just 16 months after making the NBA Finals. Davis was injured and star point guard Kyrie Irving has yet to return from a torn ACL suffered back in March. However, this has given an opportunity for undrafted point guard Ryan Nembhard to step to the plate — and so far, the former Gonzaga University star has knocked it out of the park.
After barely seeing any meaningful minutes in six games, Nembhard received his first starting nod of his career in a nationally televised showdown with the Lakers on ESPN. In a game that featured Doncic’s revenge against the Mavs, Nembhard quietly rose to the occasion, posting 17 points (7-for-11 from the field) and four assists in just 23 minutes. Two games later against the Denver Nuggets, Nembhard erupted for 28 points on 12-for-14 shooting, 10 assists and zero turnovers.
“I thought he was great the whole game. He’s been great since we put him in the starting lineup,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said, as reported by Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “Being able to find guys, also his shot as we talked about. To have 28 and 10, he controlled the game.”
Nembhard became the first point guard in NBA history to record 25+ points, 10+ assists and zero turnovers on 100% true shooting, according to RealSports. Nembhard also became the first rookie with 25 points and 10 assists in a win since his brother, Andrew Nembhard, according to ESPNInsights.
The two-year tenured Zag averaged 10.5 points and a nation-leading 9.8 assists last season, breaking a slew of passing records for the program last year, including total assists (which broke his own record by 101 total assists), assist percentage and the aforementioned assists-per-game mark. After a record-breaking 2024-25 campaign, Nembhard was touted mainly as a second-round pick by NBA mock drafts but found himself going undrafted and signed a two-way deal with Dallas just minutes after the draft ended.
The signing was obvious — the Mavericks needed guards after trading Doncic and following Irving’s long-term injury. Dallas’ only draft pick during the 2025 draft was the No. 1 overall pick (which the franchise had a 1.8% odds of landing prior to the lottery), drafting Duke phenom Cooper Flagg. With Flagg’s sky-high expectations, the firing of the controversial Nico Harrison and the team struggling mightily on the season, the Mavs were in the dumps, but Nembhard’s recent performances have been a bright spot.
“To be an undrafted rookie, 22, he’s taken big strides. It’s not my decision. It’s above my pay grade, but I don’t know if he’s going to be a two-way player too much longer,” the 10-time all-star Davis said following the victory over the Nuggets, as reported by Curtis. “I don’t even know how that works, but all of the guys on the team love playing with him.”
Now in three starts for the Mavericks, Nembhard is averaging 17.7 points and 5.7 assists per game, which includes going toe-to-toe with the Lakers and two straight wins over the Clippers and Nuggets. Nembhard has battled the likes of Doncic, LeBron James, James Harden, Kawhi Leonard and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, but has showcased the abilities he flashed night in and night out for GU fans in the previous two years as a Zag.
The Mavericks are still 6-15 on the season and have a lot of work to do, and the main attraction of the season was the 18-year-old Flagg and his enormous expectations as the No. 1 pick. However, the 22-year-old Nembhard has shined at the highest level during his rookie season, providing a much-needed spark for the flailing Mavericks in the first quarter of the NBA season.
Kyle Sweeney is a sports editor.