Pacers' Johnny Furphy Back on the Court in ACL Rehab, Still Without a Return Date

Johnny Furphy has been back on a basketball court for a while now in his rehab from a torn right ACL. Furphy said that Monday night at Victory Field, on Tyrese Haliburton's roster for the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic, and it was the first time he had said it publicly. Tony East of Forbes reported the availability. Five-on-five work has not started. The Indiana Pacers have not set a return date.

Training camp opens Sept. 29, and Furphy does not know whether he will be cleared for it.

"I'm in a good place," Furphy said. "I'm right where I need to be. As good as it can be."

The knee gave out late in the third quarter of a 122-104 loss in Toronto on Feb. 8, after Furphy came down from a dunk and grabbed at his right leg. He needed help getting off the floor and left the arena in a wheelchair. An MRI the following day at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York found the tear, and Indiana ruled him out for the season in a three-paragraph statement while the team was already in New York to play the Knicks.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle put the recovery at eight to 12 months that week and would not commit to the short end of it.

"No doubt that he's going to make a full recovery but whatever the necessary timetable is, that's what it will be," Carlisle said.

Surgery came roughly two weeks after the injury, and Carlisle called it "very successful" before Indiana hosted Philadelphia on Feb. 24.

Neither Furphy nor the Pacers are pushing a target date. He called the timing "hard to say right now."

"Honestly, it's a pretty prescribed rehab," Furphy explained. "So on certain dates you're able to do certain things."

"And I'm able to do a lot more on the court right now," Furphy added.

Back in late June, Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said Furphy had put on strength since the surgery. He is listed at 6-8 and 200 pounds.

"If you were to watch him, he's moving, he's shooting. I think his recovery is going exceptionally well," Buchanan said. "If you were to watch him out here, you'd be like, 'this guy looks like he could play.' Obviously he's not there yet, but everything is going well with Johnny."

"He's in here pretty much at the same time Tyrese is," Buchanan continued.

Furphy averaged 5.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 18.4 minutes across 35 games last season. He started 21 of them. The Toronto game was his 18th start in a row. His 3-point percentage came up to 32.4% after he shot 30% as a rookie, a season in which he played 50 games at 7.6 minutes a night and spent stretches with the Indiana Mad Ants, averaging 14.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in the G League.

Furphy went 35th overall in the 2024 draft, out of Kansas, and San Antonio sent his rights to Indiana for Juan Nunez and cash before he ever played for the Spurs. He signed his rookie deal on July 6, 2024. It is worth $8,589,485 over four years. Of that, $6,102,490 is guaranteed, and the contract runs through 2027-28.

Indiana won 19 games last season and lost 63, the fewest wins in franchise history, with Haliburton out the entire year after his right Achilles tore in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. On Aug. 12, Haliburton said he would be ready if the season began that day.

Preseason starts Oct. 7 against Minnesota at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Pacers open the regular season at New Orleans on Oct. 21 and host the Dallas Mavericks two nights later.