When two prodigiously-skilled players square off, excitement is bound to be high. All eyes are on Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham and Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg ahead of Thursday night's matchup in American Airlines Center, but there is another young talent in the building who deserves some more recognition. Ryan Nembhard is answering the Mavs' pressing questions at point guard and giving them a desperately-needed spark.
Despite going undrafted this past summer, the former Gonzaga standout and NCAA assists leader has quickly found a home for himself in Dallas. He scored 28 points in a Dec. 1 road win versus the Denver Nuggets and has three double-doubles this month. Although it initially seemed like the Mavericks would languish near the bottom of the Western Conference until Kyrie Irving returned from a torn ACL, Nembhard is ensuring that they at least stay within striking distance of the NBA Play-In picture.
The 5-foot-11 native of Aurora, Ontario, Canada is a nice underdog story for many, but Cunningham already knew what the crafty playmaker was capable of accomplishing. They played together at Montverde Academy, the prestigious Florida-based college preparatory school, readying themselves for a long and prosperous stay in the NBA.
Cunningham has already arrived, earning All-NBA Third-Team honors last season and leading Detroit to the best record in the East through 26 games this season. Nembhard is making a big impact of his own, though. The former has fond memories of the latter, and he is delighted to see what he is doing in The Association.
No. 2 reminisces ahead of Pistons-Mavs showdown
“Most importantly, he has a great feel for the game,” Cade Cunningham told reporters, per Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “Great instincts, knows where people are at. He just has a great track of where bodies are on the floor and is able to make plays around it. He's fast, he's got a great handle and his jump shot has improved a ton.
“We knew he was going to be special, honestly. Only thing was he was little, smaller than his brother {Indiana Pacers' Andrew Nembhard}. But his feel for the game and his work ethic, there was no doubt he was going to find a way to high-level basketball. He just did it a lot faster I think than we expected.”
Cade Cunningham on Mavs guard Ryan Nembhard, who was also his high school teammate at Monteverde Academy:
“It was no doubt that he was gonna find his way towards high-level basketball. He just did it a lot faster than we expected.”
(via @MikeACurtis2) pic.twitter.com/0C3QhdwFTk
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 18, 2025
Montverde Academy produces a number of impressive prospects, but not all of them are going to explode into stardom. Some will fade into the background, and others like Nembhard take the road less traveled in order to attain success. He is making executives around the league regret not selecting him in the 2025 NBA Draft. Cunningham will try to humble him once again, however.
“I used to bust him up, man,” the Pistons keystone joked when recalling their past one-on-one battles. “It's crazy, the amount of work that we put in together, like how far we've come…. Now, we're about to play against each other. I'm excited.”
Dallas (10-17) is 5-3 since Nembhard received a minutes boost. Detroit (21-5) is riding a four-game winning streak. Who will seize momentum on Tuesday night? Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
