The Dallas Mavericks have exercised the $2.2 million team option on guard Ryan Nembhard for the 2026-27 season.

After going undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, Nembhard quickly established himself as a key contributor during his first NBA season. Nembhard appeared in 60 games, making 27 starts while averaging 6.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.2 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game. He also shot 41.5% from the field, 35.6% from three-point range and 80.6% from the free-throw line.

The 6’0” guard finished the season as the NBA’s leader among rookies in assists per game and tied fellow Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg with 316 total assists. Despite playing only 60 games, that total also ranks tied for the fourth-most assists by a rookie in franchise history.

One of Nembhard memorable performances included a franchise-record 23 assists against the Chicago Bulls on April 12. The performance tied Jamaal Tinsley for the fourth-most assists ever recorded by a rookie in a single NBA game.

Nembhard had another memorable performance against the Denver Nuggets, when he recorded a career-high 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting while adding 10 assists without committing a turnover. The outing made him the first undrafted rookie in NBA history to record at least 25 points and 10 assists with zero turnovers in a game. He also became the first rookie since Stephon Marbury, and just the third rookie since turnovers began being officially tracked in 1977-78, to reach those marks without a turnover.

Nembhard has quickly proven that he belongs in the NBA despite his size and became one of the 2025 NBA Draft’s steals.