One-on-one with new Indiana Pacers wing Jordan Nwora
Jordan Nwora has officially been with the Indiana Pacers for over a week. The third-year NBA forward was traded to the Pacers from the Milwaukee Bucks at the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, and he has been with his new franchise for nine days.
In that time, the 24-year old has played in two games for the blue and gold, in which he has scored seven points and brought in six rebounds. Despite rocky shooting so far, the 2020 second round draft pick has shown the Pacers exactly what he can do on the court.
"Nwora is a guy that we've had interest in for the last couple of years. We've actually, at times, been somewhat close to acquiring him but could never quite get there... We feel that he can play both the three and the four positions," Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle said of Nwora last week. "He's bigger and taller than most people think. He's been in a great system with great coaching in Milwaukee."
Nwora left for the All-Star break and returned to his home town of Buffalo, New York. He planned on attending his sister Caeli's senior night during his time back home. Wednesday night, after the Pacers beat the Bulls, Nwora chatted one-on-one with AllPacers for a few minutes.
AllPacers: Can you take me through your last week or so, the whirlwind that it's been for you?
Jordan Nwora: Yeah, man, it's been crazy. A lot going on, a lot getting thrown at me. Still got to get a little adjusted to the adjustment, but at the end of the day, I'm happy to be here, happy to be with these guys, excited to learn and grow. Happy we were able to get a win tonight.
AllPacers: Big pace change from Milwaukee to here. I know you kinda mentioned it, and you say 'huge' there. Is that difficult, is it easy for you to kind of fit in there? How much of an adjustment is that?
Jordan Nwora: Obviously, [in the] first two games, I've only had one practice. It's a little tough just in terms of knowing spots, knowing where to run to. It's a little confusing. Still got to figure out where I'm going to find my shots and try not to force [it]. I got that a little bit tonight. Like I said, I'm going to learn, and hopefully after the break, things start trending in the right direction.
AllPacers: Carlisle loves shooting, pace, the style that you guys play. You talked about your scoring and your shooting, do you feel like you fit in well so far in that style?
Jordan Nwora: Yeah, I feel like I definitely fit in well [in] that style. There's not going to be a lot of nights where I go 0/4. But, it happens. It's part of the game, part of playing basketball. Just gotta move forward and look towards the next game.
AllPacers: How much is having George [Hill] helping with the transition? Because this is your first time switching teams in your whole career.
Jordan Nwora: It's been great having him. He's been talking to me a lot. He's just a good dude, man. It's cool having him come with me from Milwaukee. He's helped me out a lot. He's someone who's from here, showed me around, showed me the ropes. So it's been good.
AllPacers: What do you feel like you want to grow and improve as the season progresses here?
Jordan Nwora: Just continuing to grow on the defensive end. Like I said, just learn everything that's going on on offense. And just being able to help the team win.
The Pacers, and Nwora, will return from the All-Star break early next week after nearly a week off. Their next game is February 23 against the Boston Celtics.
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