Ryan Nembhard laughed when asked if he ever watched Gonzaga's most famous former player, Hall of Famer John Stockton, during his NBA days. 

"Definitely not," Gonzaga's senior point guard said. "I don't even think I was born yet."

Actually, on March 10, 2003, in his final NBA season, Stockton scored 14 points to help the Utah Jazz to an 83-73 victory over the Miami Heat. That same day, Nembhard was born in the suburbs of Toronto, Canada.

And now, more than two decades later, they both reside in Spokane, Wash., where Nembhard is the 21-year-old leader of the nation's 16th-ranked team and Stockton is a 62-year-old fan of his alma mater who still enjoys getting out on the floor now and then.

"I've played with him and played against him at The Warehouse," Nembhard said, referring to the five-court basketball facility Stockton owns near campus. "It's cool to see he's still active, still wants to play, still has that love for the game. Obviously, he's a little slower than he used to be but he still has the same mind and feel for the game."

Nembhard, whose Zags (14-4, 5-0 WCC) play Thursday at Oregon State at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network and Saturday at home vs. Santa Clara, called Stockton "a real chill guy." When he's on the court with the NBA's all-time assist leader, Nembhard said it never feels like he's in the presence of a celebrity.

"I don't really think about it like that. I just think about him being a good dude. He is one of the greatest point guards to ever play the game, but it's just cool to compete against him," Nembhard said. "It's good to have legends like that around, great people in this great program that are always around if you need them."

Nembhard grew up with another future Zag who went on to play in the NBA. Big brother Andrew Nembhard, who helped Gonzaga to a 31-0 record before losing in the 2021 national championship game, is in his third season as the starting point guard for the Indiana Pacers.

"Big influence, for sure," Ryan said. "We were hanging out since we were kids and I learned a lot from him."

They also played football and street hockey, but basketball was their primary focus. "We played every day after school," Ryan said. "Sometimes it would end up in fights, but it was all fun."

Andrew, three years older, never went easy on Ryan. They'd play H-O-R-S-E or one-on-one on the family driveway and big brother dominated. "I got him a couple times, for sure. Very rarely, but those were big moments for me."

Would Andrew acknowledge those outcomes? "Probably not," Ryan said, "but he's a big brother so he's going to lie."

One undeniable truth is that both players were superb for the Zags. Andrew Nembhard, who transferred from Florida for his final two seasons, was a first-team All-WCC selection and WCC Tournament MVP as a senior in 2021-22, when he averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 assists for a 28-4 team. 

Ryan, who arrived at Gonzaga from Creighton in time for his junior season last year, produced 12.6 points and 6.9 assists to earn all-conference honors in 2023-24. His 243 total assists broke the program's single-season record.

He is well ahead of that pace this season, second nationally with a 9.4 average to go with 11.4 points per game. He has 10 games of at least 10 assists, including14 assists against Davidson to tie his brother's collegiate high. His 3.93 assist-to-turnover ratio is sixth-best in the country.

"We just lean on him so hard," Gonzaga coach Mark Few told the Spokane Spokesman Review earlier this season. "It's just an incredible luxury to have and hopefully he'll start getting a little more love and attention on the national scene because he's something."

No argument from Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley, who was an All-America point guard at Duke in the early 1990s. After the Zags beat the Sun Devils 88-80 this season, Hurley admitted, "We pressured him and tried to turn him over, but we just couldn't do it." Nembhard wound up with 13 points, 11 assists and zero turnovers in 36 minutes.

Following his brother to Gonzaga was a comfortable transition, Nembhard said, because of the two-way trust factor. "They put their full confidence in me," he said. "I've loved every moment I've been here. I love coach Few and the rest of the staff. The culture is one-of-a-kind. It's special to be a Zag, for sure."

There is much still be written this season, and Nembhard said he appreciates the fact that the WCC is deeper at the top than perhaps ever. Games this week vs. OSU and Santa Clara will test that theory, and the Zags still have their two annual colossal showdowns against Saint Mary's, set for Feb. 1 at Moraga and Feb. 22 at The Kennel in Spokane.

The Zags and Gaels, who have dueled in the WCC tournament's championship game 12 times since 2009, currently share first place in the conference standings, each at 5-0.

"That's the biggest rivalry game I've played in in college, for sure," he said, noting the mutual dislike and respect each team has for the other. "Always physical, tough games. Those are great environments."

Personally, it's a chance for him to duel Saint Mary's senior point guard Augustas Marciulionis, the reigning WCC Player of the Year. "It's cool," Nembhard said. "He's a good point guard, obviously."

But neither the individual matchups or his own statistics motivate Nembhard. "I concern myself with winning  . . . winning league championships as well as getting deep in the (NCAA) tournament," he said. Your own success is going to come with team success."

The Zags played an impossibly challenging non-conference schedule, during which they beat Baylor, San Diego State and Indiana. They also lost overtime games to West Virginia and Kentucky, and came up just short against UConn and UCLA.

"We've played some games where we've been really good," Nembhard said. "We've got to be able to win close games, but the sky's the limit for us."