Thunder Draft Report: Kansas' Johnny Furphy

Evaluating Johnny Furphy as a potential target for the OKC Thunder in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the best teams in the NBA, boasting a 42-19 record, and also hold two lottery picks if the season ended today. There are many routes Sam Presti can go in the June Draft, but Let’s take a look at Johnny Furphy and how he would fit in the OKC Thunder system. 

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Draft Profile

• Height:6'9"
• Weight: 202 lbs
• Wingspan: N/A 
• Age: 19
• School: Kansas

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Quick Scouting Report

The Kansas swingman has a unique ability to space the floor, getting his shot off from movement, or in the catch-and-shoot, while also making an impact inside. His size and frame allow him to cut back door and flash through the lane for easy points as a play finisher. 

While the hype was around fellow Jayhawk guard Gradey Dick last draft, Furphy has the edge when it comes to physicality on both ends of the floor. While there is a shooting dip, the Australian makes up for it on the defensive side and long-term finishing projection at the next level. 

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Strengths and Weakness

Strengths

Furphy will make an instant impact on the offensive end as a complimentary piece who can create in a pinch and makes the right plays each time down the floor. While no one will continue Furphy with Steve Nash, he understands where the ball needs to go to create advantages for the offense. 

Though, his calling card will be as a play-finisher both with his floor spacing ability and at the rim. The Jayhawks' jumbo guard is shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc in the cramped college game, with pure mechanics, and a 75 percent mark at the charity stripe that projects to improve at the NBA level. 

Furphy has a high motor, running the floor hard to capitalize in transition for easy buckets producing 1.385 points per possession in that setting. On cuts, that number climbs to 1.438 points per possession thanks to his jaw-dropping 80 percent shooting at the rim. 

Using his broad shoulders to seal off defenders when he flashes through the lane, soft hands to pluck passes, and willingness to play through contact it is easy to see Furphy being a pesky cover offensively playing off an NBA star. 

He understands how to high-point the basketball which has mainly been used to loft the ball into him on offense, but could project to the glass at the next level. With nearly five rebounds a game right now, the scrappy swingman can be a plus-glass cleaner for his size.

Weaknesses

The Kansas guard will never be a high-level point-of-attack defender, and will constantly need to be the fourth or fifth best defender on the floor to find success. While that is a big weakness, he can fit within a team construct. Furphy has the size to wall up at the rim if put in a bad spot, can rotate well, and fight over screens. 

However, when put in isolation, Furphy will not be able to keep up with NBA athletes and projects to get exposed on an island. The best fit for Furphy includes an anchor at the rim to funnel the action into. 

Another weakness for the Australian is his lack of shot creation. Furphy can swing the ball and is constantly moving off-ball to free himself up, but will rarely generate his own shot one-on-one against a quality NBA defender.

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Availability

• Draft Digest: 39
• Ringer Guide: N/A
• ESPN Mock: 29
• The Athletic: 13
• Bleacher Report: 26
• CBS: 31
• Draft Net: 12
• Tankathon: 17

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Thunder Fit 

Future Role 

Furphy doesn't project to be a starter for the OKC Thunder but could sneak into closing lineups for Mark Daigneault due to his solid enough defense, and safety-net offensive production off of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren. The team-defending off-ball scorer would present a cheap, controllable fit for Oklahoma City. 

Rotation Fit 

While the Thunder value defense and playmaking, Furphy does both well enough to crack the rotation. However, it might take time for him to carve out a larger role than is currently being given to Aaron Wiggins right now. Wiggins deserves an uptick in minutes, but this current pattern would be the mold for Furphy. 

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