Johnny Furphy is a sad but all too common case in NBA circles. After being taken in the second round out of Kansas, the weirdly sized tweener has had one highlight in the league. Even worse, that highlight came in Las Vegas instead of in real NBA action.
Basketball is basketball, and the absolute destruction of Asa Newell will always deserve a rewatch, but after just two years, Furphy's career is already on the rocks.
Last season's gap-year would have been the chance for the Australian product to break out. With so many players out, Furphy could've put his skills on tape. Even if the Indiana Pacers had decided to give up on him, he would have shown what he could do for another team.
Instead, he tore his ACL in a February game that few people paid attention to. Across two seasons, Furphy has played a disappointing 85 of 164 possible games. That's just ever so slightly over half.
He is ultra-athletic. His shooting is disappointing after he hit 35% of his threes in college on a sample size of nearly four a game while also making 77% of his free throws.
In the ideal outcome, Furphy could be the Pacers' backup wing option. In theory, he can bring more size and athleticism than Ben Sheppard and more low-usage success than Jarace Walker. However, that assumes he will take a massive leap forward.
There is nothing to suggest that will happen.
Furphy, the alluring idea of potential, and the reality of production
It's not that Furphy failed to produce in a larger role. While his minutes increased from seven a game to 15, his scoring jumped from 2.1 to 5.1 points per game. His efficiencies were dreadful (even though they were somehow career highs), but he did show he was scalable to more minutes.
However, the issue with Furphy is that his shooting, the main reason he was drafted, has not materialized. It seems telling that instead of referencing current stats, this piece has to focus on his college numbers.
So many players look like steals when they are drafted, only for their main skill set to evaporate overnight. The same thing happened to Taelon Peter, who was a flamethrower at Liberty, only to be disappointing in the pros.
The sad thing is that Furphy should be good. He's on a team that can maximize his strengths as an open-court player and floor spacer at his size. Draft picks rarely go to a team built for their success, but Johnny did exactly that.
Instead, he's a tantalizing reminder that players sometimes just don't work out. He could be exactly what this Pacers' roster needs. He should be!
But he isn't. And that's the Johnny Furphy story.
His career isn't over just yet. He could regain all the allure he once held as a prospect despite coming off a major injury. If he did so, Indiana could finally celebrate finding a useful draft pick outside of Andrew Nembhard.
Hope remains, but time is running out.
Furphy will either be the breakout story of the Pacers or he'll be out of the league entirely this time next year.
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