Aaron Joshua Nesmith ( ; born October 16, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

before being drafted 14th overall in the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, wi ...

by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. He was part of the roster that reached the

2022 NBA Finals The 2022 NBA Finals was the NBA Finals, championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2021–22 NBA season, 2021–22 season and conclusion of the 2022 NBA playoffs, season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, ...

before he was traded to the Pacers in a package surrounding

Malcolm Brogdon Malcolm Moses Adams Brogdon (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Virginia Cavaliers und ...

Early life

Nesmith was born on October 16, 1999 in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. He attended

Porter-Gaud School The Porter-Gaud School is an independent coeducational college preparatory day school in Charleston, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Porter-Gaud has an enrollment of some 1100 students, comprising a lower school, middle school, and hi ...

in Charleston beginning in the fifth grade and was first called up to the varsity basketball team as an eighth-grader. As a sophomore, Nesmith won the

South Carolina Independent School Association The South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) is a school accrediting organization. It was founded in South Carolina in 1965 to legitimize segregation academies. History SCISA was founded on August 10, 1965 with seven member schools ...

(SCISA) Class 3A state title as his team's leading scorer. Nesmith led Porter-Gaud to two more Class 3A state championships in his final two seasons. As a senior, he averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game and was named South Carolina

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls cross country, boys football, boys and girl ...

for his success in basketball and academics. He left high school as a three-time SCISA Class 3A player of the year. Nesmith was a four star recruit in high school and was the 64th ranked player in the country, the 12th ranked shooting guard in the country, and 2nd ranked in all of South Carolina. Nesmith would end up committing to Vanderbilt on 9/19/2017. Nesmith did not receive offers from any high major

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

programs until he was a senior, but he began drawing more attention after an

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) tournament in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. He was rated a four-star recruit by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

and committed to Vanderbilt over offers from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, and Columbia.

College career

In his freshman season for Vanderbilt, Nesmith assumed an important role after

Darius Garland Darius Kinnard Garland (born January 26, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball, V ...

suffered a season-ending injury and

Simisola Shittu Oluwasimisola "Simisola" Shittu (born 7 November 1999) is a British-born Canadian professional basketball player for Promitheas Patras of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He played college basketball for the Vanderbilt Commodores. He was one ...

underachieved. He started in a majority of his games and averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, leading the Commodores in scoring in conference play. On February 18, 2019, Nesmith was named

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) Freshman of the Week following two career games. He scored a season-high 26 points against

and posted a

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

of 24 points and a season-high 14 rebounds against Auburn. Nesmith made his sophomore season debut on November 6, 2019, scoring 25 points, including seven three-pointers, in a win over Southeast Missouri State. In the following week, he scored a career-high 34 points, hitting seven three-pointers, in an

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

loss to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. Nesmith made four straight threes in a span of only one minute and 39 seconds. On December 6, Nesmith was named to the

Oscar Robertson Trophy The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...

watch list. On December 21, he matched his career-high of 34 points and connected on seven three-pointers in a victory over

UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrol ...

. Nesmith scored 29 points and made eight three-pointers, the best mark of his career, on January 4, 2020, as his team lost to SMU in overtime. On January 11, 2020, it was initially announced that Nesmith would miss the remainder of the season with a right foot injury that he suffered in a loss to Auburn. In 14 games, he averaged 23 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, shooting 52.2 percent from three-point range. Nesmith was the fifth-leading scorer in the

and averaged the most points by a Vanderbilt player since Tom Hagan in the 1968–1969 season. He had been on pace to have one of the best three-point shooting seasons in college basketball history. However, after having surgery on January 28, Nesmith indicated that he might return before the end of the season. Nesmith did not return, and after the end of the season declared for the

Professional career

Boston Celtics (2020–2022)

2020–21 season: Rookie year

Nesmith was selected with the 14th pick in the first round of the

by the

. On November 24, 2020, the

signed Nesmith to a four-year, $16.5 million rookie contract including team options in the third and fourth year. With fellow rookie teammate Payton Pritchard absorbing many of injured

Kemba Walker Kemba Hudley Walker (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player enhancement coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was picked ninth overall by the C ...

's minutes, it was difficult for Nesmith to crack the regular rotation for the first few months of the season. With injuries and Covid protocols plaguing the Celtics all season, extended absences from

Marcus Smart Marcus Osmond Smart (born March 6, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma Stat ...

, and other key players gave Nesmith enough opportunities to showcase not only his shooting capabilities, but also his gritty hustle and winning attitude. By April 23, 2021, coach

Brad Stevens Bradley Kent Stevens (born October 22, 1976) is an American basketball executive and former coach who is currently the president of basketball operations and de facto general manager for the Boston Celtics. Born and raised in Zionsville, Indian ...

had seen enough from the rookie to warrant consistent rotation playing time to which he hovered around 20 minutes per game for the rest of the regular season. On April 28, 2021, Nesmith put on a show with multiple career–highs including 15 points, 9 rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in a winning effort against the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

. He continued this momentum into the next two games where he eclipsed, and then matched, his then career–high with back to back 16 point performances.

2021–22 season: First NBA Finals appearance

He played for the Celtics in the

2021 NBA summer league The 2021 NBA Summer League was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada on the campus of University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The summer league c ...

. On February 15, 2022, Nesmith recorded his Celtic career–high with 18 points in a win over the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. In his second season, Nesmith and the Celtics reached the

and lost in 6 games to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

Indiana Pacers (2022–present)

2022–23 season: Starting role

On July 9, 2022, Nesmith was traded, alongside Daniel Theis,

Malik Fitts Malik Jahmal Fitts (born July 4, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for SIG Strasbourg of the LNB Élite. He played college basketball for the South Florida Bulls and the Saint Mary's Gaels. Early life Fitts grew up in Rancho Cu ...

Juwan Morgan Juwan Christopher Morgan (born April 17, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for KK Budućnost, Budućnost VOLI of the ABA League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball, Indiana Hoosiers. Early l ...

Nik Stauskas Nikolas Tomas Stauskas (born October 7, 1993) is a Canadian former professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Stauskas played two seasons of college basketball for the Mi ...

and a 2023 first-round pick, to the

in exchange for

. On November 19, Nesmith scored 19 points off the bench on 5–8 three-point shooting, while making two game-winning free throws with 9.6 seconds remaining, to defeat the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

114–113. On December 18, he became the Pacers starting

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

for the remainder of the season after posting new career-highs with 23 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. On December 21, in a win over his former team, Nesmith recorded 15 points and six rebounds as a starter, defeating the Celtics 117–112. On December 29, Nesmith recorded 22 points on an efficient 7–10 shooting from the field in a win over the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

. On February 2, 2023, Nesmith posted a then career–high in scoring with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block, on 9–12 shooting in a loss to the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

. On March 16, in a win over the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

, he recorded 22 points and 5 rebounds, on 8–11 shooting from the field, and a career–high 6–9 from three. The next game, on March 18 against the

, Nesmith tallied a then career–high in scoring with 25 points and 6 rebounds, on 9–16 shooting from the field, and 4–9 from three.

2023–24 season: Contract extension

On October 23, 2023, Nesmith agreed to a three–year $33 million contract extension with the Pacers. Five days later, Nesmith put up a new career–high 26 points along with 9 rebounds in a 125–113 win over the

. On November 6, Nesmith recorded an efficient 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 3 threes made in a 41–point blowout win over rookie

Victor Wembanyama Victor Wembanyama ( ; ; born 4 January 2004), nicknamed "Wemby" and "The Alien", is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Considered one of the best basketball prospec ...

and the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, giving head coach

Rick Carlisle Richard Preston Carlisle ( ; born October 27, 1959) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as head coach of the Detroi ...

his 900th career win. On December 30, Nesmith made a career-high 7 three-pointers in a victory over the

, on a night where teammate

Tyrese Haliburton Tyrese John Haliburton (born February 29, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Haliban", he is a two-time NBA All-Star and two-time All-NBA Th ...

tied the Pacers franchise record for assists in a game with 23.

2024–25 season: Injury–riddled 50–40–90 season, second NBA Finals appearance

During the 2024–25 season, Nesmith converted 50.7% of his field goals, 43.1% of his three-point attempts and 91.3% of his free throw attempts, nearly qualifying to join the

50–40–90 club 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

. On May 21, 2025, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the

, Nesmith had a career-high 30 points on 9-13 shooting, including a career-high 8-9 from three. Nesmith also made six consecutive threes in the final five minutes of regulation which helped the Pacers overcome a 14-point deficit in a 138–135

win. Indiana went on to defeat New York in six games to win the Eastern Conference championship and advance to the

2025 NBA Finals The 2025 NBA Finals is the ongoing championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2024–25 NBA season, 2024–25 season and conclusion to 2025 NBA playoffs, the season's playoffs. The best-of-seven series is being played bet ...

against the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, Nesmith’s second appearance in the Finals, following the 2022 loss to the

as a member of the Celtics.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 46 , , 1 , , 14.5 , , .438 , , .370 , , .786 , , 2.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 52 , , 3 , , 11.0 , , .396 , , .270 , , .808 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 3.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, 73 , , 60 , , 24.9 , , .427 , , .366 , , .838 , , 3.8 , , 1.3 , , .8 , , .5 , , 10.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 72 , , 47 , , 27.7 , , .496 , , .419 , , .781 , , 3.8 , , 1.5 , , .9 , , .7 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 45 , , 37 , , 25.0 , , .507 , , .431 , , .913 , , 4.0 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .4 , , 12.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 288 , , 148 , , 21.4 , , .463 , , .385 , , .828 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .4 , , 8.9

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

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, 5 , , 0 , , 15.0 , , .278 , , .286 , , 1.000 , , 2.6 , , .2 , , .2 , , .2 , , 3.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , 0 , , 3.5 , , .235 , , .091 , , .750 , , 1.0 , , .2 , , .1 , , .3 , , .8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 17 , , 32.9 , , .433 , , .278 , , .919 , , 4.9 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .5 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, style="background:#cfecec;", 23* , , style="background:#cfecec;", 23* , , 28.3 , , .472 , , .492 , , .861 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , .8 , , 12.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 60 , , 40 , , 22.3 , , .438 , , .385 , , .886 , , 4.0 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .5 , , 8.3

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;", Vanderbilt , 32 , , 19 , , 29.0 , , .392 , , .337 , , .825 , , 5.5 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , .6 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;", Vanderbilt , 14 , , 14 , , 35.7 , , .512 , , .522 , , .825 , , 4.9 , , .9 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , 23.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 46 , , 33 , , 31.0 , , .442 , , .410 , , .825 , , 5.3 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .7 , , 14.7

References

External links

Vanderbilt Commodores bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nesmith, Aaron 1999 births Living people American men's basketball players Boston Celtics draft picks Boston Celtics players Indiana Pacers players Maine Celtics players Small forwards Basketball players from Charleston, South Carolina Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen