Former Gators hoop standout earns big payday with Indiana Pacers

Former Florida basketball standout Andrew Nembhard signed a three-year, $59 million contract extension with the Indiana Pacers that will take him through the 2027-28 season, Todd Ramasar and Jaafar Choufani of Life Sports Agency told ESPN on Wednesday morning.

He agreed to the maximum allowable money available and Indiana will decline his $2.2 team option in 2025-26, allowing the new deal to begin for him next year. The former Gator became eligible to sign the deal on Monday.

Nemhard, who is originally from Canada and attended Montverde Academy in Central Florida, played his first two collegiate seasons with the Orange and Blue before transferring to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in 2020. He spent the next two seasons with the Zags before being picked with the 31st overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in the 2022 NBA draft.

Since joining the NBA, he has averaged 9.3 points while dishing out 4.3 assists and grabbing 2.4 rebounds per game in 26.4 minutes played per regular season game. Appearing in 143 games the past two seasons, Nembhard has started 110 of them, noting that he switched positions from shooting to point guard last year.

The guard had a breakout performance in the 2024 Eastern Conference playoffs, starting all 17 games while averaging 14.9 points and 5.5 assists on 56% shooting in the Pacers’ deep playoff run.

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