photo by: AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson

Johnny Furphy walks the red carpet before the NBA basketball draft, Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in New York.

Former Kansas wing Johnny Furphy was acquired by the Indiana Pacers with the No. 35 in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Thursday afternoon, bringing his slide to an end.

Furphy was officially selected by the San Antonio Spurs and then immediately traded to the Pacers, who had been slated to pick only one spot later. Indiana sent San Antonio cash considerations in order to move up, according to multiple reports.

Furphy, a freshman from Melbourne, Australia, averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in his lone season with the Jayhawks.

Neither team had picked a Jayhawk in the draft since the 1980s. The most prominent KU products to play for the Pacers in recent years are Scot Pollard (2003-06) and Brandon Rush (2008-11).

The Pacers’ president, Kevin Pritchard, was a member of KU’s 1988 national-title team. Indiana did not make a selection in the first round, so Furphy was its first pick.

The Pacers went 47-35 during the 2023-24 season and reached the Eastern Conference Finals before falling in a sweep to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.

McCullar to New York

Kevin McCullar Jr. came off the board with the draft’s third-to-last pick, at No. 56. He went to the New York Knicks with a pick that had previously belonged to the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets.

A strong defender throughout his career, McCullar became more of a primary offensive option during his final year with the Jayhawks, which was his sixth season of college basketball overall. He averaged a career-high 18.6 points per game to go along with six rebounds and 4.2 assists.

However, McCullar suffered a bone bruise to his knee early in KU’s conference schedule that diminished his offensive efficiency and kept him out of numerous games, including the Big 12 Conference and NCAA tournaments. Rehab for the knee injury also impeded his pre-draft process.

In the end, the Knicks called his name regardless, adding him to previous picks Kyshawn George (Miami), Pacôme Dadiet (France) and Ajay Mitchell (UC Santa Barbara).

The last Jayhawk drafted by New York was Eric Chenowith in 2001, a fellow second-round pick. Other former KU players who went on to play for the Knicks include Cole Aldrich, Marcus Morris, Svi Mykhailiuk and Wayne Selden.

Kansas guard Kevin McCullar Jr. is pictured during Media Day on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug