Former Jayhawk Johnny Furphy showing flashes at Summer League

After a scorching hot couple of months in January and February of last season, Johnny Furphy was being mocked as a first round pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Unfortunately, the young Aussie wing fell off a bit at the end of the season, scoring in double-figures just once in his final six games. This caused there to be much debate about whether or not he should enter the NBA draft, but he eventually declared and was drafted 35th overall and headed to the Indiana Pacers.

Through three Summer League games, Furphy has had some nice all-around performances despite struggling a bit from beyond the arc. In his first game against the Brooklyn Nets, Furphy found his footing, recording 12 points, 4 rebounds, and a steal. Then in his second game against the Minnesota Timberwolves he scored a team-high 18 points while pulling down 7 rebounds and recording a pair of blocks and a pair of steals.

On Tuesday night, the 6’9” rookie had yet another impactful performance, recording a statline of 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. He also hit the biggest shot of the game, netting his 4th three of the game with 16.4 seconds left on the clock to seal the 98-94 victory for Indiana:

Furphy has now hit multiple three-pointers in every Summer League game, but is shooting just 17/42 (40.5%) from the field overall and 9/27 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. The positive is that he has put nice pressure on the rim, has drawn free throws in every game, is making plays defensively, and looks like a legit developmental NBA wing.

Furphy will be sitting behind players like Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, and Ben Sheppard in the wing depth chart, meaning that he is unlikely to have a role in Indiana right away. Despite this, his Summer League performance has been promising for his long-term outlook in the NBA.