Mavericks have sneakily found the next Jalen Brunson — and fans should be ecstatic

After the 2025 NBA Draft ended at the end of last month, Dallas Mavericks fans were a bit sad that Nico Harrison didn't trade into the draft to select a guard to complement Cooper Flagg during his rookie year. Dallas was reportedly looking to trade back into the draft to select a guard, as their backcourt needed some more depth since Kyrie Irving is set to miss the first half of the season with a torn ACL, but a deal never came to fruition, and the Mavs stood pat.

Fans wanted Dallas to draft Tyrese Proctor or Walter Clayton Jr. desperately, but they may have landed a player who has the potential to be better than them both after the draft ended. The Mavs signed Ryan Nembhard to a two-way deal after the second round concluded, and this signing may truly end up being one of the steals of the summer when it's all said and done.

In his first Summer League game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Nembhard finished with 21 points, five assists, and one steal while shooting 8-14 from the field and 1-2 from downtown. Nembhard helped put the game away with a go-ahead 3-pointer with just over one minute remaining, and his early rise is already reminding Mavericks fans of what they had with Jalen Brunson.

Ryan Nembhard could follow in the footsteps of Jalen Brunson

Brunson formed an incredible duo with Luka Doncic during the early parts of their careers, and now Nembhard has the chance to do the same thing with Cooper Flagg in Dallas. Nembhard and Flagg have already formed strong on-court chemistry, and the similarities between Brunson and Nembhard stretch much further than just the fact that he is teammates with a future NBA star.

Just like Brunson, Nembhard is an undersized guard who was doubted coming out of college due to his size and age, despite having immense success at the NCAA level. Nembhard played four seasons at Creighton and Gonzaga, and Brunson played three seasons at Villanova.

Both players fell out of the first round due to concerns with their size, and just like Brunson did, Nembhard is erasing all doubt about his potential NBA fit.

Even though it was only Summer League game, Nembhard is already showing that he belongs in the NBA, as he possesses all of the needed skills to succeed at the NBA level as a smaller guard, similar to Brunson. Both players consistently make winning plays, are exceptional passers, and create their own shot, and Mavs fans got a great look at each of those skills in Nembhard's first Summer League game.

Nembhard was picking his spots in the mid-range, throwing accurate passes all over the floor, and playing hard-nosed defense, and he is already showing great signs that he could develop into a great guard for Dallas one day. Before Summer League began, Nembhard was playing five-on-five with some veteran Mavericks players, and according to Mavs Summer League head coach Josh Broghamer, he was making all of the right reads and proving that he belongs.

Dallas may have truly just stolen Nembhard from the rest of the NBA, exactly like they did with Brunson back in 2018, and Mavericks fans should be elated about his future with the team.