Johnny Furphy 2024 NBA Draft Profile
We are mere days away from the 2024 NBA Draft. Today, we will be continuing our draft profile series with Kansas wing Johnny Furphy, who projects to be a first-round pick in this year’s class. Without further ado, let’s dive into his NBA draft profile!
Height: 6’7.50″ (6’8 wingspan, 8’8.50″ standing reach)
Weight: 188.8 lbs
Draft Age: 19.5
Position: Wing
Johnny Furphy, who was originally a part of the Centre of Excellence, an NBA Global Academy development program in Australia, was a four-star recruit and the No. 35 player in the 2023 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. For CoE, he averaged 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds on 39.3 percent shooting from 3-point range in his final season. He chose Kansas over Marquette, Providence, Ole Miss and College of Charleston.
Furphy wasn’t a high-usage player in his only season at Kansas, averaging 9.0 points and 4.9 rebounds on 46.6/35.2/76.5 shooting splits, equating to a 60.9 true shooting percentage. He was one of Kansas’ top 3-point shooters and rebounders. Furphy made the Big 12 All-Freshman squad after being the team’s fourth-leading scorer in 2023-24.
Let’s dive into some of his strengths and weaknesses, shall we?
Strengths:
Even though he wasn’t a primary focal point of the team’s offense, you could tell that Furphy has a good motor. He’s raw in his skillset, but he competed on the glass, corralling 8.8 rebounds per 75 possessions with respectable defensive rebounding (15.9%) and total rebounding (11.7) rates.
Furphy was a good shooter from 3-point range, especially from the corners, where he took the majority of his long-range attempts.
The freshman wing took over 60 percent of his attempts from distance, though I thought he improved finishing through contact as the year went on. He wasn’t afraid to challenge bigger, stronger shot-blockers at the rim, where he netted a remarkable 82.1 percent of his attempts, per Barttorvik.
I don’t have the Synergy numbers in front of me. But his film suggests that a healthy amount of those rim finishes were in transition. Furphy moves pretty well, in general, but he always runs the court well–which is where his motor comes into play.
He’s a high-effort player on both ends of the court. Even though there’s plenty of development to be had, it’s difficult to teach a high motor. You don’t need to do that with Johnny Furphy; you know he’s going to leave it all on the floor.
Weaknesses:
Furphy’s role offensively was fairly limited, so he didn’t get plenty of on-ball reps. Though I wasn’t impressed with him as a shot creator; he’s not a great ballhandler nor had to make a ton of reads as a playmaker. Furphy wasn’t bad at attacking closeouts, but he doesn’t have the quickest first step nor elite creation in tight quarters in the lane.
He’s a good-not-great defender, but will need to bulk up because he’s not the strongest duck in the pond. Furphy barely has a plus wingspan and will need to improve his (core) strength to absorb contact against stronger athletes. I think he can develop into a league-average defender, but he’s not there yet.
Projection: 15-25 Range in First Round
I think Furphy can blossom into a good 3-point shooting threat at the NBA level, but he will need to shore up other parts of his game to be a really effective contributor. He’s young and raw, so it may take time for him to put it all together. I’d be patient with him if I were an NBA organization. He’s not a finished product with a skill set that can help a rotation.
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