Andrew Nembhard

A two-hour drive is all one would need, should they have wanted to travel from Andrew Nembhard’s birth city to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s native land. And, while that certainly made for an intriguing subplot, the Indiana Pacers’ third-year talent only had one goal on-court: creating a thousand miles of separation for a stepback jumper heard ‘round the world. The clash between two of Canada’s finest reached one of its apexes during the Game One’s closing stage of the 2025 NBA Finals, with Indiana searching for one of their “only-the-Pacers”-type comebacks. Unforgettable in his contribution with Indy trailing by six, Nembhard unleashes a joystick-like sequence on the league’s Most Valuable Player, complementing his double between-the-leg with a cold-blooded stepback triple. The bucket upped Indiana’s win probability by 12.5 percent, crucial in eventually helping guide a come-from-behind win on June 5, 2025. Stamped as one of just four players to score at least 20 “clutch points” on 50 percent shooting in the postseason, Nembhard shined in the series opener through a 14-point, four-rebound, six-assist, two-triple contribution.