Former Gonzaga Bulldogs point guard Ryan Nembhard has another NBA address. And another chance to prove that his passing translates no matter where he lands.
The Atlanta Hawks are trading Nembhard, Buddy Hield and cash to the Charlotte Hornets for Dorian Finney-Smith, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on September 22.
It is Nembhard’s second trade in roughly two months. Dallas sent him to Atlanta in July after the undrafted guard produced one of the better rookie playmaking seasons in the NBA.
For Gonzaga fans, none of that part is particularly new.
Nembhard has been piling up assists everywhere he goes.
Ryan Nembhard’s Gonzaga Passing Followed Him to NBA
Nembhard’s final Gonzaga season was ridiculous even by the program’s standards.
He finished 2024-25 with 344 assists and a nation-leading 9.8 per game. The 344 assists set Gonzaga and West Coast Conference records and ranked as the fifth-highest single-season total in NCAA Division I history. He ended his college career with 882 assists, 22nd in Division I history.
Then all 30 NBA teams passed on him in the 2025 draft.
Dallas did not.
Nembhard eventually converted a two-way opportunity into a standard NBA contract and played 60 games as a rookie, including 27 starts. He averaged 6.6 points, 5.3 assists and only 19.5 minutes per game. His 5.3 assists led all NBA rookies, while his 316 total assists tied Mavericks teammate Cooper Flagg for the rookie lead.
His best passing night looked suspiciously like a Gonzaga box score.
Nembhard handed out 23 assists against the Chicago Bulls on April 12, setting a Mavericks record for assists in a regulation game and tying for the fourth-most by a rookie in NBA history.
Undrafted was a draft result. It did not last long as an evaluation.
Hornets Become Nembhard’s Third NBA Team in 65 Days
The strange part has come since.
Dallas exercised Nembhard’s contract option for 2026-27 on June 29. Three weeks later, the Mavericks included him in the July 19 three-team trade that sent Zaccharie Risacher to Dallas and Lu Dort and Nembhard to Atlanta.
Now Atlanta has moved him again before Nembhard ever played a regular-season game for the Hawks.
That makes Charlotte his third organization in 65 days.
The Hornets are inheriting a cheap contract, too. Nembhard is due approximately $2.15 million in 2026-27 after Dallas exercised his team option.
For Charlotte, that is an inexpensive look at a 23-year-old guard who already has an identifiable NBA skill.
Minutes are the more complicated question.
Ryan Nembhard Joins Crowded Hornets Backcourt
Charlotte already has veteran guards Coby White and Dennis Schröder, along with young point guards Christian Anderson Jr. and Kylan Boswell on its current roster.
Nembhard therefore does not arrive with a guaranteed role.
He does arrive with evidence.
Charlotte is getting a guard who led the country in assists at Gonzaga, led NBA rookies in assists per game one year later and already owns a 23-assist NBA performance.
Two trades in 65 days make his résumé look unsettled.
The ball rarely does.
Former Gonzaga Star Ryan Nembhard Traded With Buddy Hield in NBA