Former Maribyrnong Sports Academy student Johnny Furphy is hoping to join a rare basketball club in the coming weeks.
In just his first NBA season, Furphy will get to experience what every player sets out to do in being part of a championship series.
Furphy’s Indiana Pacers won through to the deciding series against Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pacers won game six of its eastern conference final series against the New York Knicks on Sunday, Australian time, to win the series 4-2.
With the game in control, the Pacers cleared their bench in the final minute of the game.
Furphy played 47 seconds in game six without registering a stat as the Pacers ran out the clock.
He also played 1:28 in the Pacers game five loss.
Just seven Australians, Luc Longley, Andrew Gaze, Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova and Jack White have won NBA championships.
Furphy played minutes in 50 regular season games in his first NBA season and then played in seven finals games.
Speaking on the ESPN NBA coverage after the game, Furphy said it was unreal.
“I’m trying to soak this in, trying to understand how significant this is and how rare it is,” he said. “I’m trying to enjoy it as much as possible.
“I love being part such a great team, this is something I’m going to learn so much from.”
Furphy said being on the court in the final moments of the conference final didn’t feel real.
He said he was getting goosebumps thinking about going to the NBA finals.
One of his good mates has been in America, along with his sister and her boyfriend watching it play out.
“Everyone knows how good of a team they are,” he said of OKC. “I’m excited and we match up well against them, and who knows what will happen.”
Furphy was taken at pick 35 by the San Antonio Spurs, before being traded to the Pacers last year.
He was a late bloomer having made his first Victorian state team in 2022 in the under-20s, before earning a scholarship at Centre of Excellence at the AIS.
Before he headed to the AIS, he attended the Maribyrnong Sports Academy having long dreamed of attending the college. He finished year 12 at the academy while he was at the AIS.
In his one college season with Kansas, Furphy worked his way into the starting line up, averaging nine points, 4.9 rebounds and one assist per game.
He was voted into the Big 12 freshman’s all star team.
