With the No. 51 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the New York Knicks landed Mohamed Diawara, who hasn’t played much this season. Meanwhile, point guard Ryan Nembhard, who went undrafted, is quietly emerging as the potential future starting point guard for the Dallas Mavericks. He could have been an ideal fit with the Knicks.
Malcolm Brogdon retired, and Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek have been relatively underwhelming this season. Had the Knicks had the foresight to snag Nembhard with that 51st pick, he could have been a very intriguing backup point guard to Jalen Brunson, and he would have added to their young core.
Obviously, there were plenty of solid undrafted guys that the Knicks (and everyone else) passed up on. But seeing a guy at a potential position of need break out has to hurt at least a little bit.
Ryan Nembhard has been balling for the Mavericks
Heading into the 2025 NBA Draft, Nembhard had just wrapped up his second season with Gonzaga, his fourth of college basketball. He spent his first two years at Creighton before transferring and wrapping up his collegiate career with two with the Bulldogs.
At 22 years old, Nembhard was on the older side of the guys available in the draft, and listed at just 5-foot-11, he was also one of the shortest. But that hasn’t mattered so far in the NBA.
The Mavs scooped up Nembhard on a two-way contract in July, bringing him on board to play alongside Kyrie Irving, D’Angelo Russell, and Brandon Williams at the point guard spot. But he’s slowly taken over as the lead guard (though Irving has been out all season).
Nembhard has been the Mavericks’ starting one for the past four games. Heading into those games, Dallas was 4-14. Now, they are 8-15, with Nembhard helping them to a 4-1 record as a starter.
In those four games, Nembhard has averaged 17.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists while shooting 65.1% from the floor and 66.7% from deep on 4.5 three-point attempts per game. If he can keep that up (all while averaging just 1.3 turnovers, by the way), he could be a potential star for the Mavs.
He’s been a revelation for Jason Kidd and the Mavs, but he could have been just that for the Knicks, though his opportunities wouldn’t have been nearly the same.
Having a guy like Nembhard who could have led the Knicks’ offense with Brunson on the bench could have been perfect for New York. And though their backcourt would have been tiny if they shared the floor together, his playmaking could have taken some pressure off of Brunson in that regard, too.
Hindsight is 20/20, but that doesn’t make it sting any less.