Indiana Pacers rookie wing Johnny Furphy talks summer league, his teammates, and more on The Paceroos Podcast

Furphy was solid during summer league play

Indiana Pacers wing Johnny Furphy practices in advance of 2024 summer league. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Pacers On SI) /

In a recent interview on The Paceroos Podcast, Indiana Pacers rookie wing Johnny Furphy shared details about his experience playing for the Pacers in summer league and his growing relationship with the rest of the roster.

Furphy, who had a tremendous second outing in Las Vegas and showed how he can impact games for Indiana, averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game during his four summer outings. His shooting volume stood out, as did his general game sense.

His best game was an eighteen-point, seven-rebound performance against Minnesota. "It was definitely an enjoyable time there. Just playing, hadn't really played organized basketball for a while there. I was trying to enjoy it as much as possible," Furphy said of summer league during the podcast interview. "It's definitely interesting playing with guys that you've never played with before. Older guys. And then new coaches, new play style. It was pretty hectic in the sense that just trying to play a new play style. At times, it kind of got, most of the games at summer league it got a bit sloppy. What you'd expect from guys that haven't played together. I was trying to control what I could control."

Furphy's reality is similar to that of most rookies. They finish a collegiate or overseas season a few months before the draft, then perform draft workouts or play three-on-three for a few months. Once that is done, they are thrown into organized five-on-five action with players they just met. It's chaotic, yet it can be revealing.

The Pacers rookie wing, who was drafted in the second round with the 35th overall pick, adapted well. It impressed his coaches and teammates. He started and closed games for the blue and gold, and he was the team's second leading scorer.

One teammate that Furphy enjoyed having was Samson Froling, a fellow Australian. "It was a really good experience to kind of have him there," the Kansas product said. Two other teammates that Furphy liked were Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker, two players who just wrapped up their rookie season with Indiana in May.

They were friendly to Furphy right away, and both players stood out as veterans. Walker's general size and ability impressed the newest Pacer. "It's crazy he's only a year older than me. He's a large human," Furphy said of Walker.

Both Sheppard and Walker will be Furphy's teammates this season in the NBA, so he hit the ground running in terms of getting experience with his new squad. While it's tough to pick up things between the draft and start of summer league, Furphy was blessed to have two NBA teammates on the summer group.

The second-round pick also got to meet most of the rest of his teammates at a rare event. Pacers guards Andrew Nembhard and Tyrese Haliburton faced off in an international friendly as Canada took on Team USA, and the rest of Indiana's roster, including Furphy, attended the game.

"We went to the USA-Canada game, so I haven't met [Tyrese Haliburton] or Andrew Nembhard. The whole team went and watched that game to support them," Furphy said. "So that was pretty cool, getting to meet the whole team. Great bunch of guys, lot of enthusiasm. Them coming to watch us was pretty cool." Furphy added that he has talked to Haliburton outside of that game.

Furphy also enjoyed having so many of his teammates sitting on the sideline for his first summer league outing. He joked that they were acting like a mini coach and giving him tips. Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman, Obi Toppin, Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, and James Johnson, among others, were all present for that game.

After a solid summer league, Furphy hopes to carry that momentum into the NBA. He isn't really a goal setter, but he wants to learn and get better. "I think it's similar to me kind of heading into Kansas. I don't really want to set benchmarks myself," he said on the podcast. "I think I'm going to go in there and be a sponge. Slowly establish myself, which is something I've kind of done every team I've been at," he added. "I'm excited to see what it's like."

Furphy concluded his answer by saying that he will learn the cadence of being in the NBA and being a pro once the season starts. The entire interview can be found here.

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