Indiana Pacers rookie wing Johnny Furphy was invited to the green room for the 2024 NBA Draft, meaning he attended and watched the first round. In total, 24 draft hopefuls were invited to the green room.

That is generally a good sign for a player’s draft outlook. The process goes as follows, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN. “The process of deciding who to invite to the NBA Draft involves communication with presidents or general managers of teams with first-round selections. Teams are asked to vote on the top 25 players they expect to be drafted first. This is to ensure players aren’t sitting for very long before a national television audience,” Givony detailed.

By being a green room invite, many expected Furphy to be a first-round pick. But the Kansas product was one of two players who attended night one of the 2024 NBA Draft and weren’t selected — Utah Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski was the other.

Both Filipowski and Furphy were chosen within the first five picks of the second round. But because the draft was two days long, both players had to wait an entire day to find out their NBA home despite being a green room invite.

For Furphy, the result was surprising. He discussed it all on a recent episode of The Paceroos Podcast. “It was definitely a big shock. Not how anyone anticipated it going. That was part of the reason I left college, because I had such great feedback from NBA teams,” Furphy said of not being selected in the portion of the draft he expected. The rookie wing, along with his family and his agents, felt confident he would go in that range.

“It was a bit of a crazy night. I don’t know exactly why it happened,” Furphy added of falling into the second round. He couldn’t identify one specific reason he dropped to the 35th overall selection, citing a few cascading events and his lack of pre-draft workouts with teams picking later in the first round.

Furphy ended up being the final player with a green room invite to be selected. The Pacers traded up to get pick 35 and select the Kansas product. Furphy averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks.

The decision to even go to college happened quickly for Furphy. During the podcast appearance, he explained that his original plan was to play in the NCAA ranks during the 2024-25 campaign. But success at the NBA Academy changed the trajectory of his career, and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go to Kansas when he did. He viewed it as the perfect situation.

Playing for Bill Self helped Furphy become an NBA-level prospect, and he did reach the association after a one-and-done season. But the Australian still didn’t get drafted in the range he expected, and it is motivating him heading into his NBA career.

“I’m walking into this with a bit of chip on my shoulder now,” he said during the podcast interview. “I’ve been through that, had my eyes a bit more opened walking into things. I think it’s worked out for the better.”

Furphy already showed off some impressive skill playing for the Pacers in summer league. He averaged 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game during his four summer performances, including a great second outing where he focused on the right things and was impactful.

He’s happy to be with the franchise despite not thinking they were in his likely draft area. “It was a massive relief,” he said of being selected by the blue and gold. “Not knowing a massive amount about the organization, but the more I kind of found out and learned about where I’m going to, the more feedback from coaches, and obviously having [President of Basketball Operations] Kevin Pritchard, a KU alumni… it just sounded perfect. Their culture, the overall vibe, and then obviously being in a winning environment. I think it’s perfect for me.”

The Pacers sent cash considerations and the 36th overall pick to the San Antonio Spurs in order to acquire Furphy. Right away, the young wing thought his off-ball movement would make him a good fit with the blue and gold. “We were presently surprised that he was there,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said of Furphy being an option in the second round. “We feel like we’re willing to be more patient with a young player like Johnny.”

The new rookie wing felt the love from Indiana soon after arriving. “Everyone was super excited,” he said. He didn’t have a ton of time to sit and chat with decision makers due to the quick turnaround for summer league.

Now, summer league is done and the 19-year old can get more settled in his new home. His entire appearance on The Paceroos Podcast can be found here.