Watch: Johnny Furphy's NBA Summer League slam dunk hailed as one of the greatest by an Australian ever
Less than a month after he was part of the Pacers squad that pushed Oklahoma City to seven games in the NBA finals, the 20-year-old Victorian stopped Las Vegas Summer League in its tracks with a jaw-dropping hammer that immediately went viral.
With 3.30 left in the second quarter, Furphy rebounded a Chicago miss and took the ball coast-to-coast.
Eyeing the basket, Furphy rose, cocked his arm back, hung in the air and crammed the ball down the cylinder in a stunning statement that brought the entire Pacers bench to its feet.
The Maribyrnong College product's victim was none other than Bulls 2025 first-round pick Noa Essengue who was immortalised on a Furphy poster for the world to see.
Fellow Aussie Lachy Olbrich, the Illawarra Hawks NBL champion selected with pick No.55 in this year's draft, had the best seat in the house to the nasty dunk, trailing behind Furphy as he yammed it on his teammates noggin'.
What an insane poster by Johnny Furphy 😳 pic.twitter.com/p0jvNxSQhA
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) July 15, 2025
pic.twitter.com/q1xlzwyQQi
— Nathan | LFC | Jackjumpers (@grubbavitch) July 14, 2025
The effort sent NBA Twitter into overdrive and had many wondering if an Australian had ever produced a dunk that matched it.
Pacers franchise player Tyrese Haliburton couldn't hide his approval: 'Johnny MF Furphy sheeeeeesh', the injured star wrote on X.
'Your favorite players favorite player,' he added.
Johnny MF Furphy sheeeeeesh🤯
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) July 14, 2025
Your favorite players favorite player https://t.co/Gkijg68rlV
— Tyrese Haliburton (@TyHaliburton22) July 14, 2025
The 35th pick in the 2024 NBA draft is no one-trick pony, either, his 15 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists 2 steals and 2 blocks filling the stat sheet, despite the Bulls' 114-105 win.
Marty Clark, Furphy's coach at the NBA Global Academy, recently told Code Sports he expected the young gun to develop into an Olympian – after once not making the top state team for Victoria.
'He was in the U20 B team for Victoria when I first saw him and the first thing we thought was 'who's that and why haven't we seen him before?',' Clarke recalls of Furphy.
'He just stood out. Long, athletic, straight line, played hard.'
He said the 206cm Furphy drew comparisons to the likes of Joe Ingles and Brad Newley.
'I guess (he's) similar in Joe's capability at that size with maybe Brad Newley's athleticism, and you even think Andrew (Gaze), that big guard, and no one's comparing them to Andrew yet, but just the physical tools.
'I think that's where some people underestimate (his) sheer size.'
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