LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas guard Johnny Furphy was the 35th overall selection and Kevin McCullar was selected 56th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft Thursday afternoon conducted from ESPN studios in New York City.
Furphy was selected by the San Antonio Spurs and his pick was later part of a proposed trade with the Indiana Pacers. McCullar was selected by the Phoenix Suns and was then part of a proposed trade to the New York Knicks.
With the pair of selections, Kansas now has 89 all-time NBA Draft selections, including 31 in the Self era. Since the NBA adopted a two-round draft in 1989, Kansas has had 29 first-round selections and 44 total draft picks.
“Last night was a very tough and humbling night for Johnny,” KU head coach Bill Self said. “The anticipation of being in the Green Room and the assurance that he and his representation had been told that he would be drafted didn’t turn out that way. It was a tough night and I thought Johnny handled it very maturely and very well, but it was not easy for he or his family.
“For him to come back, get drafted and find out he is traded to the Pacers is great,” Self continued. “It’s an up and coming franchise. They’ve got really good players. I spoke with them (the Pacers) this morning and they were very excited about Johnny. They ended up trading up a pick to get him.
“I’m excited for Johnny,” Self added. “I think they will do a great job in developing him. Johnny knows that he needs time to improve his strength for the NBA game. I think it’s a good landing place for him.”
A 2024 Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection, Furphy averaged 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for Kansas this past season. The Melbourne, Australia native started 19 games, including 18 of the last 19 contests. Furphy averaged 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in Big 12 play and led Kansas with 44 three-point field goals made last season.
Prior to Kansas, Furphy played prep basketball for Centre of Excellence (CoE) – Australia’s development program hosted at the Australian Institute of Sport alongside NBA Global Academy. He reclassified for the 2023 class and garnered attention when he participated in various NBA Academy events in the United States. Additionally, Furphy played for Victoria at the 2023 Australia-U20 Championship.
“Kevin is a first-round player and I think anybody that saw him healthy this year would agree to that,” Self said. “Kevin will play in the league for a long time and the Knicks got one of the toughest players we have had in our program. We are all excited that Kevin heard his named called. He will be a great fit to a playoff team and such a storied franchise.
“Unfortunately, Kevin got injured at the end of January wasn’t the same the rest of the season and had a setback after the season as well,” Self added. “He wants it bad and he will respond. He will do well in New York.”
A 2024 All-America Honorable Mention and All-Big 12 First Team selection, McCullar led the conference in scoring in 2023-24 with an 18.3 points per game average. The San Antonio native was a 2024 finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year award and, including 2023-24, was a three-time semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. This past season, McCullar posted back-to-back triple doubles, which were the third and fourth in Kansas history and the first time in NCAA history since the 2007-08 season.