Former Kansas Basketball Teammates to Meet in Eastern Conference Finals

Many Kansas Jayhawks fans plan to tune into the upcoming Game 7 showdown between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder to watch Christian Braun put on a show.

However, two former KU standouts on the other side of the playoff bracket are set to square off against each other.

With the New York Knicks' recent series-clinching victory over the Boston Celtics, they will officially take on the Indiana Pacers to determine who will represent the East in the NBA Finals.

They may not be big-time contributors, but the Knicks and Pacers feature a pair of Jayhawks who once donned the same jerseys. Either Johnny Furphy or Kevin McCullar will have the opportunity to compete for their first-ever championship at the next level.

The only two rookies to come out of KU this past season, Furphy was taken No. 35 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, while McCullar was the No. 56 pick.

Furphy played a much larger role than his counterpart this season, appearing in 50 games to McCullar's four and averaging 2.1 points.

The Melbourne, Australia native already made his playoff debut, playing in five of Indiana's 10 possible games, albeit in garbage time. Furphy has missed all three shot attempts thus far, though he has grabbed four rebounds and recorded one assist.

Neither player is expected to see any meaningful minutes during this series, but it is always fun when former KU players represent the school in the pros.

Perhaps they'll even meet with "CB" and the Nuggets to decide who wins it all.