Pacers select Tristen Newton with the 49th overall pick

(WISH) — The Indiana Pacers selected Tristen Newton with the 49th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

Newton has championship pedigree, coming off back-to-back national championships at UConn. He also won NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan was impressed with Newton’s playmaking capabilities and wanted to improve their guard depth.

“We wanted to get another lead guard to continue to groom and develop,” Buchanan said. “I don’t think you can ever have enough point guards that can make plays with the ball, and we liked his size. We liked his pedigree. We liked his toughness. He’s very calm. He’s a gamer.”

“We saw him make big plays after big plays in big moments, and we liked that about him.”

Buchanan also said that Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle values basketball IQ and that Newton has a great feel on how to play the game.

He was their starting point guard the last two seasons, scoring 15.1 points per game last year and racked up 6.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists.

He started his career with East Carolina, playing his first three years in college there before transferring to UConn.

Newton took a lot shots from outside the arc last year, 5.5 per game, but is not a very efficient three-point shooter. He made 32.1% of his three-point attempts last year and 32.7% across his collegiate career.

The Pacers also selected Kansas wing Johnny Furphy and Akron forward Enrique Freedom in the second round.

The Pacers went 47-35 in the regular season and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, getting swept by the Boston Celtics.