Indiana Pacers Pre-Draft Workouts: Grant Nelson One-on-One Interview (May 12, 2023)
Note: Nelson has elected to withdraw from the 2023 NBA Draft.
Height: 6-11
Weight: 235
Position: F/C
College: North Dakota State
Age: 21
2022-23 Season Stats
PPG: 17.9
RPG: 9.3
APG: 2.1
BLK: 1.7
STL: 0.8
Player Bio
Courtesy of North Dakota State Athletics
2022-23 Season (Junior): Named to the All-Summit League first team … USBWA All-District honoree, becoming only the second selection in NDSU’s Division I era … NABC All-District first team … Summit League All-Defensive Team … Led NDSU in points (19.9 ppg), rebounds (9.8 rpg), assists (2.4 apg), blocks (1.7 bpg) and steals (1.1 spg) – both for Summit League play, and for the entire season … Only player in the league’s top 11 for all five of those stat categories … Only player in the league’s top five for scoring and field goal percentage … Led The Summit League in rebounding and ranked second in the league for blocks … Surpassed 1,000 points for his career to become the 39th member of NDSU’s 1,000 Point Club … Also became the 21st player in NDSU history to score 500 points in a season … Career-high 36 points in a win over North Dakota on Jan. 27 … Career-high and Summit League Tournament record 22 rebounds in semifinal win over South Dakota State … Also recorded single-game highs of 8 assists, 5 blocks, 4 three-pointers, and 3 steals … Posted 11 games of 20-plus points and 3 games of 30-plus points.
2021-22 Season (Sophomore): Played in 29 of 33 games, making 21 starts and missing four games due to injury … Ranked third on the Bison with 11.6 points per game … Led the team with 38 blocks on the season (1.3 bpg) … Shot 51 percent for the season … Made 43 percent from three-point range in league play … In NDSU’s comeback victory over South Dakota on Feb. 7, Nelson scored 12 points in the span of 1:33 … Career-high 24 points in NDSU’s win over North Dakota on Dec. 22 … 20 points and 8 rebounds in NDSU’s semifinal victory over Oral Roberts at the Summit League Tournament … Eight games with at least 17 points.
2020-21 Season (Freshman): Named the Summit League Sixth Man of the Year and earned a spot on the league’s All-Newcomer Team … Played in all 27 games for the Bison and made 5 starts as a true freshman … Averaged 6.3 points in 20.8 minutes per contest, ranking 6th on the team in both categories … Shot just under 50 percent in conference play, including 41 percent from three-point range … Led NDSU with 25 blocked shots … Scored a season-high 14 points at TCU on Dec. 22 in his first collegiate start … 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a win over Omaha on Jan. 9 … Made at least one three-pointer in 8 straight conference games in February and March.
High School: North Dakota’s Mr. Basketball as a senior in the 2019-20 season … Unanimous first-team all-state selection … Put up 25 points, 18 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game as a senior, leading the Eastern Dakota Conference in all three categories … Recorded 9 games with 20-plus rebounds, and also led Devils Lake in assists and three-pointers as a senior … Averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocks per game as a junior in 2018-19, earning all-conference and second-team all-state honors … Holds the Devils Lake school records for blocks in a season and career … Also a state placewinner in the high jump.
Personal: Son of Nels and Meg Nelson … Has four brothers and four sisters.