Poythress Signs Deal with Indiana Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS – Former Kentucky men’s basketball forward Alex Poythress has signed a free-agent deal with the Indiana Pacers, the team announced Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Poythress will try to earn his way on to the 15-man Indiana roster when training camp opens in late September. 

Poythress is the fourth Wildcat from the 2015-16 team to reach the NBA, joining fellow Wildcats Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Skal Labissiere (Sacramento Kings) and Tyler Ulis (Phoenix Suns), who were selected in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Even more remarkable, Poythress is the ninth player from the historic 2014-15 team to have signed an NBA contract or to have been selected in the NBA Draft. That number could grow with several players still competing collegiately.

Poythress enjoyed a successful four-year tenure at Kentucky in which he was a member of two Final Four teams, two Southeastern Conference regular-season championships and two SEC Tournament titles. 

The Clarksville, Tennessee, native averaged 10.2 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds in his final season in 2015-16. He charted four double-doubles and had a career-best 25-point effort at Alabama during his senior campaign. For his career, he averaged 8.6 points and 5.3 rebounds. 

Poythress is one of only 12 players to register 900 career points, 500 career rebounds and 70 career blocks. A high-character player and exceptional student, Poythress graduated in just three years at Kentucky and became UK’s first Academic All-American since 1995 during his senior year. He was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member.