Pacers Draftee Taelon Peter Was Unknown Despite Signs Of Potential

INDIANAPOLIS – Taelon Peter’s journey to the Indiana Pacers started in Lynchburg, Virginia about 15 months ago. The 2024 Liberty Flames were fresh off of thier first season in Conference USA, and head coach Ritchie McKay was quick to get to work. His team has just finished the year at 18-14 before falling to UTEP in the first round of their conference tournament. They had to improve.

McKay was contacted by one of his former assistants about a player he should keep his eye on. His name was Taelon Peter, and he had just finished three seasons at Division II Arkansas Tech. In 2023-24, Peter averaged 18.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 40.9% from long range.

“Let me see what this guy’s like,” McKay told the former assistant. He was already on his computer, so he fired up Synergy and went to watch Arkansas Tech. There was Peter, impressing. “He’s got a little game,” McKay recalled thinking.

That interest led to quick action. “It started there. We had a couple conversations on the phone, and before you know it, I was in Russellville, Arkansas,” Mckay explained. He wanted Peter on his team.

Peter had ascended rapidly while playing for the Wonder Boys. His college career started at Tennessee Tech, where he ended up because his high school senior track season got cancelled due to COVID-19 while he was on his basketball visit with the Golden Eagles. But he played just six games for the program before returning to Arkansas, his home state. The bouncy guard was inexperienced when he began his first season at Arkansas Tech.

He came off the bench as a sophomore, then moved into the starting five as a junior. All the while, Peter was working on his jump shot and adding skill to his game. By his fourth collegiate season, the Russellville native was a First Team All-Central Region level talent. He was ready for more when McKay and Liberty came calling.

“You could tell by some of his highlights when he played at Arkansas Tech that he had some bounce,” McKay said. “But what I didn’t know was his ability to put them together. He’s got this rare combination of explosive athleticism and really good skill.”

The Division I stage was what Peter needed to really put his name on the map. But before he even played, he showed off the character that made McKay love him – even more off the floor than on. His humor was apparent quickly, Peter frequently joked about McKay’s age. The young guard commented on how tight the shorts were on players during McKay’s playing days. They bonded over his sense of humor.

That emotional intelligence applied to the basketball court. About eight games into the season, McKay approached Peter with an opportunity: he wanted his new transfer to be in the starting five. His play warranted a promotion on the depth chart.

But Peter was having none of it. “He said, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, coach, wait a minute’. Who are you going to start me for?” McKay recalled. “He said, ‘no, no, don’t. Coach, I’m fine coming off the bench. Don’t take away somebody’s confidence and mess up what we’ve got going’.”

Peter stayed with the reserves, though he did end up leading the team in scoring by the end of the season. His impact remained high. But he was the sixth man the entire time, and that show of character stuck with McKay.

“He was willing to trade the things that would give him shine, attention, credibility, whatever, for what was going to be something that the team could benefit from. And that’s who Taelon Peter is,” McKay explained.

Who a player is always sticks with coaches. How they play is what gets them noticed by NBA teams. And the Pacers drafted Peter because of how he played at Liberty, the perfect program for his skillset.

The Flames run a very conceptual offense. There aren’t as many sets as other collegiate teams as they flow from action to action. It was perfect a player like Peter. His shooting and athleticism combined to make that style hum.

According to Synergy, the same service McKay used to get a feel for who Peter is as a player, the Arkansas native executed 116 possessions as a spot up shoooter at Liberty. He was involved in the finish to transition actions 91 times. In both of those play types, Peter graded out in at least the 96th percentile among all NCAA players.

He averaged 13.7 points per game and shot a blistering 45.3% from long range. Peter dunked 20 times. His best play types fit well into an NBA that is trending more toward pace-and-space, and his efficiency is off the charts – Peter finished 75.6% of his two-point shots, an absurd figure for a guard.

“You know you’re coaching or going against a great shooter when every time it goes up, they have an attempt, you think it’s going in. And that’s how I would describe Taelon,” McKay said.

How did Taelon Peter end up with the Pacers?

As Peter went through the pre-draft process, McKay recalled fielding questions from Pacers Vice President of Player Personnel Ryan Carr. Soon after, Peter worked out for the Pacers – among other teams. McKay explained that after those pre-draft sessions, inquiries poured in about Peter’s story. Who is he? Why did he come off the bench? Why did he only play 22 minutes per game?

Carr, though, said something different than representatives from other teams. He inserted some of his own opinion. “His numbers are off the charts,” Carr noted to McKay, reffering to Peter’s efficiency. McKay knew then that the Pacers did their homework and that they were interested in drafting the 23-year old.

Sure enough, when pick 54 rolled around on draft night, the Pacers snapped up Peter. He was an unknown player during the NBA Draft broadcast, but he shouldn’t have been. His statistical profile was unmatched by other draft prospects.

Indiana has found success in the past by adding players with strong college numbers later in the draft or as an undrafted free agent. Alize Johnson and Terry Taylor carved out short stints in the NBA after starting with the Pacers, for example. Perhaps Peter could be next.

“It’s interesting because when we looked at him, when we put him on our rankings on the draft board, he was very high,” Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said of Peter. “He’s considered one of the best shooters in the league. And movement and shooting is what this league is about right now.”

On draft night, Peter wasn’t sure what was going to happen. He was at his Grandma’s – who he calls his Granny – house in Alma, Arkansas. His whole family was there, as was his wife’s family. They were bunched up in a small living room, and the whole group lept up in excitment when Peter’s name was called. Before they knew it, they were all drenched after jumping in the pool fully clothed. Part of Peter wanted to act like he’d been there before. But he hadn’t, and he celebrated.

Peter knew the work he had put it made it possible for him to get drafted. But few expected it. Those emotions together made the moment of being selected more exciting. “I knew I did everything that I could to get that opportunity, so I thought I put my best foot forward,” he said. “But even if not, everybody there had the expectation of not getting drafted, so it was going to be cool either way.”

And now, he brings his talents to an NBA team. Barely over a year ago, McKay was obsessing over film and trying to lure Peter to Liberty. Soon, Peter will play in a summer league game with “Pacers” on his jersey.

Early in his college journey, Peter – a state champion high jumper in high school who made it far with his athleticism – realized he needed to be a better jump shooter. He believes that shooting translates well to all levels of basketball, and he was proven right going from Division II to Division I, then becoming an NBA prospect.

When he focused on his skill development in the past, it led to success. He hopes to repeat that process by adding some ball handling in the pros. It’s one of his early focuses with Indiana.

That’s his new basketball home. It’s where Peter will try to keep ascending and making a name for himself. “I’m a winner. I do whatever the team needs to win,” Peter said of his own game. “But I’m an energy guy. I’m a spark plug. I got comfortable last year with coming off the bench and coming in and making a spark on the game. But I would say I can make threes on the move, catch and shoot, and I’m a sneaky athlete.”

Altogether, that’s a desirable player type. Yet few knew who Peter was 15 months ago, and even fewer thought he was on an NBA trajectory. The Pacers saw his potential and believe that they can copy McKay by finding a great player and better person.