Indiana Pacers 2023 draft pick Mojave King is signed with New Zealand Breakers for 2024-25 season

King was a second-round pick last season

Feb 17, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Team Joakim guard Quentin Grimes (6) dunks over Team Jason guard Mojave King (7) in the 2023 NBA All Star Rising Stars Game at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana Pacers 2023 second-round draft pick Mojave King is under contract with the New Zealand Breakers for the 2024-25 season.

The Breakers announced a few months ago that they had signed King to a one-year contract for the NBL25 season. It's a return to the NBL for King, who played for multiple different clubs in the league from 2020-2022.

"I've signed with the Breakers because I've had some excellent conversations with Head Coach Mody Maor," King said via a press release. "Mody is a big reason why I decided to sign. His vision and the way he's going to try to make the team play next season is everything I want to be a part of in my basketball career."

Mayor said in the same press release that King has been looking for "the right basketball home for some time." Perhaps that could be with the Breakers, who play in King's native New Zealand.

On the NBL's roster tracker for next season, King is one of seven new players listed for the Breakers. Freddie Gillespie, who spent time with the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic, is also among the group.

King was drafted with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. It was quickly revealed that he would be a draft-and-stash. "Pretty much wide open for me. I'm really just looking for the best situation for my development," King said of what he was looking for with his next team at the time.

As it turns out, that was still in the Pacers organization. King joined the Indiana Mad Ants, the Pacers G League affiliate, on a G League contract. That is an unusual contract journey, though it has been done before by the likes of Marcus Zegarowski, RaiQuan Gray, Isaiah Hartenstein, Abdel Nader, and Kevin Hervey after being drafted.

King spent his rookie season with the Mad Ants, and that allowed the Pacers to hold his draft rights. A left foot injury and location benefits made the G League the right spot for King. "This is where I want to be. Obviously trying to work my way up to the Pacers. There's probably no better place in the world to be. In the building, in their practice facility now," the 22-year old said of his decision.

Over the course of the full G League season, King averaged 3.9 points per game. He made 15 appearances and shot 38.1% from the field. It never all clicked for the young wing, who was recovering from injury.

Before Indiana was even eliminated from the postseason, the Breakers announced that they had signed King. Indiana had three second-round draft picks this year and a relatively full roster already, so fitting in King would have been tough. Because he signed overseas, Indiana keeps King's NBA rights for another year.

Recently, the NBL announced that the Breakers will play preseason games against the Utah Jazz and Oklahoma City Thunder. That means King will get two outings against NBA competition in early July. Then, the Pacers will be tracking him overseas for another year.

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