LYNCHBURG — Former Liberty guard Taelon Peter arrived in Lynchburg one season ago from the Division II ranks. On Thursday, the Arkansas native reached the pinnacle of professional basketball.
Peter was selected by the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night with the 54th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft. The transfer became just the third player in program history to be drafted, and the first since it shrank to two rounds in 1989. He is the highest-picked player in program history.
The last Liberty player selected in the NBA Draft was Cliff Webber, by the Boston Celtics in the fourth round of the 1985 NBA Draft. A year earlier, Ezra Hill was selected in the 10th round by the Phoenix Suns.
Peter joins a Pacers franchise fresh off an appearance in the NBA Finals, pushing the eventual champion Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games. Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles in the final game and will miss most, if not all, of the 2025-26 season.
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Peter’s one season in Lynchburg was filled with constant offensive explosions off the bench. He started just two out of the 35 games he played, pouring in 30 points on three different occasions. His 13.7 points per game led the team and he shot a Conference USA-best 75.6% on 2-point field-goal attempts.
Peter also scorched the net with 45% shooting from 3-point range on five attempts per game to set a new single-season program record. In three CUSA Tournament games, he averaged 15 points on 76% shooting from the field.
His athleticism, however, might have been his most eye-popping ability. At 6-foot-4, he was a constant threat for a highlight dunk in transition. Combined with his shooting prowess, Peter was good enough to earn workouts with the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets and the Pacers leading into the draft.
Head coach Ritchie McKay landed Peter from D-II Arkansas Tech in March 2024, where he averaged 15 points per game across three seasons. Prior to his time there, he played one season on the Division I level with Tennessee Tech, appearing in six games in the 2020-21 campaign.
Peter’s effectiveness at Liberty earned him CUSA Sixth Man of the Year honors, as well as a selection to third team all-CUSA. Hours before being selected in the draft, Peter was named to the all-state second team by the Virginia Sports Information Directors.
The selection of the Russellville, Arkansas, native came to the surprise of the panel on ESPN’s draft coverage of the second round Thursday night.
The network’s lead draft analyst, Jonathan Givony, reported: “Just a word on Taelon Peter who the Indiana Pacers just drafted. Wasn’t in my top 100, wasn’t invited to [the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament], wasn’t invited to the G League camp, wasn’t invited to the NBA combine, but hears his name called at 54.
“Led the NCAA in true shooting percentage, 33 dunks, tremendous athlete. This is why the NBA Draft is so beautiful because you hear guys like Taelon Peter hearing their name in the draft also.â€
Peter will likely make his Pacers debut in the NBA Summer League, which begins in Las Vegas on July 10.
