Ruben R. "RJ" Nembhard Jr. (born March 22, 1999) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for Motor City Cruise of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the TCU Horned Frogs.
![]() Nembhard with TCU in 2019 | |
No. 22 – Motor City Cruise | |
---|---|
Position | Point guard / Shooting guard |
League | NBA G League |
Personal information | |
Born | (1999-03-22) March 22, 1999 (age 23) Keller, Texas, U.S. |
Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Listed weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Keller (Keller, Texas) |
College | TCU (2017–2021) |
NBA draft | 2021 / Undrafted |
Playing career | 2021–present |
Career history | |
2021–22 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
2021–2022 | →Cleveland Charge |
2022–present | Motor City Cruise |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats ![]() | |
Stats ![]() | |
Nembhard grew up playing football and started playing basketball at age 10.[1] He attended Keller High School in Keller, Texas. Nembhard averaged 21 points as a junior, earning District 5-6A MVP honors. In his senior season, he averaged 25.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Nembhard was named Star-Telegram Super Team Player of the Year and District 3-6A MVP.[2] A four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for TCU over offers from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Baylor.[3]
Nembhard redshirted his first season at TCU after receiving limited playing time through six games and suffering a knee injury.[4] As a freshman, he came off the bench, averaging 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.[5] On January 4, 2020, he scored a career-high 31 points in an 81–79 overtime win over Iowa State.[6] As a sophomore, Nembhard averaged 12.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.[7] As a junior, he averaged 15.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and four assists per game, earning Third Team All-Big 12 honors. On March 29, 2021, Nembhard declared for the 2021 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility.[8] He later decided to remain in the draft.
After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Nembhard joined the Miami Heat for the 2021 NBA Summer League.[9] On September 27, 2021, he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[10] On October 16, his deal was converted to a two-way contract with the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League.[11] On March 31, 2022, he signed a standard contract with the Cavaliers.[12] On April 7, he was waived by the Cavaliers[13] and three days later, he signed another two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[14]
On November 9, 2022, the Motor City Cruise announced via their Twitter account that they had acquired Nembhard.[15]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021–22 | Cleveland | 14 | 0 | 4.5 | .333 | .000 | .750 | .5 | .9 | .1 | .0 | 1.1 |
Career | 14 | 0 | 4.5 | .333 | .000 | .750 | .5 | .9 | .1 | .0 | 1.1 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017–18 | TCU | 6 | 0 | 5.5 | .286 | .000 | .250 | 1.0 | .8 | .0 | .2 | 1.5 |
2018–19 | TCU | 36 | 8 | 17.2 | .351 | .299 | .615 | 2.1 | .9 | .5 | .4 | 4.4 |
2019–20 | TCU | 29 | 28 | 32.1 | .366 | .313 | .740 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 1.0 | .2 | 12.1 |
2020–21 | TCU | 24 | 24 | 34.9 | .400 | .339 | .778 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1.1 | .2 | 15.7 |
Career | 95 | 60 | 25.5 | .375 | .314 | .724 | 3.1 | 2.5 | .8 | .3 | 9.4 |
Son of Ruben & Terri Nembhard. Nembhard's father, Ruben, played one season in the NBA/15 seasons overseas and works as a trainer and skills development coach.[16] His grandfather, Joe Beauchamp played 10 seasons with the San Diego Chargers and his sister, Jayden, plays volleyball for Long Beach State.[17]
Motor City Cruise current roster | |
---|---|
|