Could the Suns take another brother and bet on bloodline toughness?
While the Valley clutches its collective pearls over the impending trade that will ship Kevin Durant to his fifth NBA franchise, it’s easy to forget one small, inconvenient truth: the 2025 NBA season isn’t over yet.
I know, I know. Everyone in Phoenix is busy firing up the trade machines, dissecting fake packages like they’re on a quest for buried treasure. But here’s a fun fact, one you won’t hear shouted over the static of NBA Twitter hot takes: the Finals are still happening. Still. Happening.
And not just happening. It’s historically happening. The Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder are marching toward something we haven’t seen since LeBron James dragged a wounded Cleveland roster back from a 3–1 grave to stun the 73-win Warriors in 2016: a Game 7. That’s right. The most beautiful, sacred, blood-pressure-spiking phrase in all of sports. Game 7.
The last NBA Finals Game 7. pic.twitter.com/OzElx2Z3Tg
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 20, 2025
Forget your ratings talk. Forget the endless debates over market size or star power. This Sunday, eyeballs will be glued to screens. Hearts will pound. Legacies will teeter. Because for the first time in nearly a decade, the Finals are going the distance.
So yes, the Phoenix Suns are asking what they can salvage from the KD experiment. But before we crown or condemn anyone, remember this: the season still has one breath left in its lungs.
One of the more understated revelations of this Indiana Pacers Finals run has been Andrew Nembhard. Tasked with defending the league’s MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nembhard hasn’t shut him down — because no one truly does that to an MVP — but he’s done something almost as valuable: he’s disrupted rhythm. He’s applied pressure. He’s made Shai work for everything. And in a series this tight, that kind of resistance matters.
So what does any of this have to do with the Phoenix Suns?
Well, take a look at the incoming draft class. There’s another Nembhard in the mix. Ryan. Like his older brother, he played at Gonzaga. Like his brother, he’s a competitor with an edge, wired with that same mix of grit and poise. Sure, he’s listed at just 5’11” — small by NBA standards — but what he lacks in size, he compensates for with feel, fire, and an uncanny ability to stir chaos on both ends of the floor.
Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
Watching Andrew thrive on the biggest stage should make teams think twice about writing off his younger brother. Because if the Suns are serious about building a backcourt with toughness and tenacity, there might be a Nembhard blueprint already unfolding before our eyes.
Ryan Nembhard is a real possibility for the Suns at pick 52. He’s already been through a pre-draft workout in Phoenix, and it fits the pattern. The Suns have made it clear: they’re targeting size, power forwards and centers, at 29, and looking for guard or wing depth at 52. So yes, Nembhard’s name being in the mix isn’t just smoke.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. And honestly? You’re not wrong. The Suns need more than a 5’11” guard this deep in the draft. They need length. Switchability. Defensive chops. Attitude. Grit. Energy. All of it. This team has holes, and one undersized guard isn’t patching them up overnight.
But that’s the reality of pick 52. You’re not drafting a savior. You’re taking a flier. And when you do that, maybe you bet on intangibles. On guys who carry something you can’t teach. Ryan Nembhard, like his brother, brings that. The instincts. The toughness. The ability to punch above his weight.
It’s not about checking every box. It’s about finding one or two that matter, and trusting that in the margins of a draft, those things can still move the needle. At 52, that’s all you can ask for. And sometimes, it’s all you need.
One thing worth pondering, maybe even laughing at, depending on your mood, is whether Andrew Nembhard’s breakout on the NBA’s biggest stage could give a little late push to his brother’s draft stock. It might sound silly on the surface, but in the optics-driven world of NBA scouting, it’s far from impossible.
After all, just last year, we saw Jalen Williams’ brother, Cody, ride the coattails of his own promise into the top 10 of the NBA Draft. Cody had the physical tools, of course. He’s 6’7”, long, athletic, the kind of player who looks like he was built in a draft lab. But don’t kid yourself, being the brother of a rising star didn’t hurt.
Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
Ryan Nembhard doesn’t have those same physical gifts. Not even close. He’s 5’11” in a league that now expects its guards to come with condor wingspans and switchable defense. But there’s that old saying: you can take the dog out of the fight, but not the fight out of the dog. And Ryan? He’s got fight. Just ask Tyler Rucker on a recent episode of the Suns JAM Session Podcast, where we circled him as a target for the Suns at 52.
Maybe he doesn’t become an NBA difference-maker. Most likely, he doesn’t. But you can squint and imagine it. Because if there’s one thing this league loves to chase, it’s identity. And if your brother’s carving out a role in the NBA Finals by being a gritty, relentless tone-setter, it’s not wild to think a team like the Suns — a team searching for direction — might look at Ryan and see something familiar.
Hell, it wouldn’t even be the first time. This franchise has practically made a living off drafting or signing the other brother. Cody Martin ring a bell? How about Taylir Girffin?
So here we are. Less than a week until the draft. A Game 7 in the Finals staring us in the face. And Phoenix? Phoenix is miles away from that kind of glory. But that’s exactly what makes it exciting. It’s a reminder of what it takes. Effort, edge, identity.
Should the Suns draft Ryan Nembhard? Probably not. Will his brother’s Finals run nudge him up the board? Probably. But if you’re picking at 52, you could do worse than betting on a dog.
It’d just be a lot easier if that dog were 6’6”.
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