Nembhard, Pacers agree to 3-year, $59M deal

Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard has agreed to a three-year, $59 million contract extension that will take him through the 2027-28 season, Todd Ramasar and Jaafar Choufani of Life Sports Agency told ESPN on Wednesday morning.

Nembhard — one of the breakout players of the 2024 Eastern Conference playoffs — agreed on the maximum allowable money available to him on a three-year deal. The Pacers will decline his $2.2 team option in 2025-26, allowing for the new deal to begin for him next year, sources said. Nembhard became eligible to sign the deal Monday.

After drafting him No. 31 overall out of Gonzaga in 2022, Nembhard has been a sizable Pacers development story in his two NBA seasons. Nembhard, who is playing for the Canadian national team at the Paris Olympics, averaged 14.9 points and 5.5 assists on 56 percent shooting in the Pacers’ run to the conference finals, becoming an integral part of a deep and talented young group of Pacers guards that includes All-NBA Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Ben Sheppard and veteran T.J. McConnell.

Indiana defeated the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks on the way to the Eastern Conference finals and kept All-Star Pascal Siakam and forward Obi Toppin on new deals as they look to contend in 2024-25.

With Haliburton out of the lineup in Games 3 and 4 of the conference finals against the Celtics, Nembhard averaged 28 points and 9.5 assists. He became the fourth player to shoot 55 percent from the floor and 45 percent on 3-pointers in a single postseason, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Nembhard’s 48 percent shooting on 3-pointers in the 2024 playoffs was best among players with 25-plus attempts, per ESPN Stats & Info.