It took the Australian forward Johnny Furphy just one season at Kansas to grab the attention of NBA evaluators and make his dreams of playing at the highest level of basketball come true, with Furphy being selected with the No. 35 overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs. However, the pick was immediately traded to the Indiana Pacers where he’ll play his rookie season.
The Pacers swapped spots with the Spurs, who were set to pick at No. 36. The Pacers also gave up “cash advances,” per report for the swap.
Furphy joined the Jayhawks in August of 2023 and slowly but surely showed throughout his true freshman season that he could be a versatile impact player on both ends of the floor at the pro level. Standing at 6-foot-9 with a Swiss Army knife ability on offense to score on all three levels along with some valuable positional versatility and length on the defensive end.
After getting just one start for Kansas in the first 14 games of the season, Furphy earned himself a role in the starting lineup and made an instant impact for the Jayhawks. Averaging 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in the last 18 games of the season with an efficient 46.6% field goal percentage and 35.2% percentage from behind the three-point line for the season.
Furphy is a Melbourne, Australia native, playing prep basketball at Centre of Excellence hosted at the Australian Institute of Sport alongside NBA Global Academy. Where he was a three-star prospect ranked the No. 138 overall prospect and the No. 29 small forward for the 2023 recruiting class according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
What NBA Draft experts are saying about Johnny Furphy
Furphy was selected to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team and was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after leading Kansas with 44 three-point field goals last season. But will he be able to translate his well rounded game to the next level? On3’s NBA Draft expert James Fletcher addressed the question in his evaluation of Furphy ahead of the draft.
“Johnny Furphy raised his draft stock in his one season at Kansas, coming from Australia to space the floor in college basketball,” Fletcher said. “Fitting the mold of what many NBA teams are looking for, his overachievement could see him reach the professional ranks after one season. The 6-foot-9 wing shot 35.2% from the 3-point line, also cutting to the basket well around his co-stars on the court.”
“Furphy opted to remain in the NBA Draft rather than make a Kansas return, setting the table for him to be picked somewhere below the lottery this year.”
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