Jalen Slawson has turned the Pacers’ Las Vegas Summer League into his own audition tape.
Indiana has been stuck in the middle through two games, but Slawson has given the team something far more interesting than a routine summer showing. The former Furman standout has been making plays on both ends, attacking the rim, defending with force, and looking like much more than a player on the edge of the roster. What once seemed like a path toward a two-way deal now feels like a real push for a deeper role.
That kind of rise fits the way Slawson has built his career. He wasn’t handed anything at Furman, where he began as a bench player before growing into a starter as a sophomore.
His breakthrough came in his senior season, when he averaged 14 points and seven rebounds per game while adding nearly 3.5 combined blocks and steals. That run put him in award conversations, and after a COVID eligibility waiver gave him one more season, he took another step forward.
In that fifth year, Slawson won Southern Conference Player of the Year, helped Furman reach its first NCAA tournament in 43 years, and played a central role in the upset of the University of Virginia team many had picked to win the National Championship that year. He delivered a double-double in the biggest game in program history.
The NBA has not exactly made things easy since then. Slawson was taken late in the second round by the Sacramento Kings and spent most of his time with their G-League affiliate before being cut after one season. He then spent a summer moving through the Orlando Magic, their G-League team, and a stretch without an NBA call-up, even after making an All-G-League defensive team.
That path makes his current moment with Indiana feel even more meaningful. The Pacers brought him in on a two-way deal, and his October debut came against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Now, after a season in which he appeared in 13 games and averaged seven points while shooting 37.5 percent from deep, he’s showing the same traits again: on-ball defense, weakside shot-blocking, and enough versatility to stand out in a crowded summer setting.
He has also spent the past two years proving himself across the Stockton Kings, Osceola Magic, and Noblesville Boom, which helps explain why this version of Slawson doesn’t look like a fluke. He has been excellent in Vegas, and the Pacers have clearly needed what he brings.
With two games left in Summer League, Slawson has become one of Indiana’s most important storylines. The Pacers need more 3-and-D wings, and with depth a bigger issue after losing their first-round pick in their gap year, he has a real chance to play his way into that conversation.
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For a roster trying to sort out who can hold up on the perimeter and who can keep an offense from getting comfortable, that kind of showing lands with some extra weight. It was only one game in July, but it was also the sort of early look that can expose a real issue before the Pacers have much time to smooth it over. [Read more 🡒]