Four months after their college careers culminated on the same NCAA Tournament floor in Wichita, Kansas, former Gonzaga guards Ryan Nembhard and Nolan Hickman will be on the court together next week in Las Vegas when their professional careers unofficially begin at NBA Summer League.
Nembhard and Hickman were named to the Dallas Mavericks’ Summer League roster on Thursday, reuniting the former college teammates who started 69 games in Gonzaga’s backcourt the last two seasons.
The two could both see action in Dallas’ highly-anticipated, nationally-televised Summer League opener against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 10 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The game, pitting Mavericks No. 1 draft pick and reigning college player of the year Cooper Flagg against the Lakers and Bronny James, will air on ESPN and is expected to draw a sellout or near-capacity crowd.
The Mavericks announced Thursday they’d signed Nembhard to a two-way contract one week after Gonzaga’s record-setting point guard went unselected in the NBA Draft.
Dallas extended a Summer League invite to Nembhard’s college backcourt mate, Hickman, but it’s unclear if the Mavericks will retain the shooting guard through a two-way deal, Exhibit 10 contract or training camp invite beyond his time in Las Vegas.
At least one other member of Gonzaga’s 2024-25 roster, senior forward Ben Gregg, will be participating in Summer League after confirming to The Spokesman-Review he’d accepted an invitation from the Boston Celtics. The S-R was unable to confirm a report on X that guard Khalif Battle had agreed to a deal with the Phoenix Suns.
Nembhard and Hickman helped guide GU to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and led the Zags to a West Coast Conference Tournament championship in March. Hickman made March Madness in each of his four seasons at GU, playing in 12 total NCAA Tournament games during his college career.
As a priority two-way signing, Nembhard should see plenty of run during the Mavericks’ time at Summer League. The point guard was considered to be one of the top players still available when the second round of the NBA Draft ended last Thursday and agreed to a deal with Dallas minutes after the event ended.
Nembhard led the nation in assist average (9.8) and total assists (344) last season while averaging 10.5 points per game and making 40% of his shots from the 3-point line. He not only broke his own single-season GU assists record, but set the WCC record and finished with a top-five assist season in NCAA history.
Hickman will have a chance to get spot minutes in Dallas’ first few games in Vegas, but the Seattle native could see his playing time increase toward the end of the team’s stay, as the Mavericks shut down their top players.
Hickman averaged 9.5 ppg and 2.4 apg in his career at Gonzaga, scoring a career-best 14.0 ppg during his junior season. A three-year starter, Hickman was GU’s primary ball-handler in 2022-23, helping the Zags reach the Elite Eight. He relinquished point guard duties to Nembhard in 2023-24, moving to an off-ball role in his final two seasons with the Zags. Hickman was one of the WCC’s top 3-point shooters, making 41% of his looks as a junior before knocking down 44% last season.
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