Lakers 47th Pick Mojave King-where Is He Now
- 01. Lakers 47th pick Mojave King's Journey So Far
- 02. How the 47th pick landed with the Lakers
- 03. Immediate trade to the Pacers
- 04. Struggles and injuries in the G League
- 05. Why he left the Pacers system
- 06. Return to the New Zealand Breakers
- 07. Current on-court role and stats
- 08. What this means for his NBA future
- 09. Comparing his paths: Ignite vs. Pacers vs. Breakers
- 10. Potential scenarios for the next 12-24 months
- 11. How Lakers fans should view the 47th pick
- 12. Hypothetical stat snapshot (2023-25)
- 13. Narrative takeaway for Lakers and fanbase
Lakers 47th pick Mojave King's Journey So Far
Mojave King, the player the Los Angeles Lakers selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, never actually played for the franchise; his draft rights were traded to the Indiana Pacers on draft night, and his current status is that of a 2024-25 New Zealand Breakers guard in the NBL, working to rebuild his stock for a potential NBA or high-level overseas return.
How the 47th pick landed with the Lakers
At the 2023 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers used the 47th overall pick to select Mojave King, a 6-foot-5 New Zealand-born wing who had spent the prior season with the NBA G League Ignite team, where he averaged 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.6 made threes per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field.
King's profile was painted at the time as a raw but promising two-way project player with length, defensive upside, and room to grow his shooting and decision-making, fitting the archetype of a late-second-round stash pick.
Immediate trade to the Pacers
Within hours of the Lakers' selection, the draft rights to Mojave King were conveyed to the Indiana Pacers in a separate trade, a move that effectively turned him into a draft-and-stash asset rather than a Lakers' developmental target.
Contractually, the Pacers retained his NBA rights while King continued to develop in the G League ecosystem, first with the NBA G League Ignite in 2022-23 and later with the Pacers' own affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants, during the 2023-24 season.
Struggles and injuries in the G League
King's rookie season in North America was hampered by injuries, limiting him to 15 games for the Indiana Mad Ants in 2023-24, where he averaged 3.9 points per contest and struggled to carve out a consistent rotation role.
His most notable G League outing came on March 8, 2024, when he scored a season-high 19 points in just 15 minutes against Raptors 905, adding two blocks, hinting at the offensive upside that had made him a second-round pick even if he could not stay healthy enough to build momentum.
Why he left the Pacers system
Frustrated by inconsistent minutes and lingering injury issues in the Mad Ants rotation, King opted to exit the Pacers' G League orbit and seek playing-time-heavy opportunities elsewhere, concluding that continued development required regular starts and high-usage minutes rather than sporadic NBA-adjacent looks.
That decision pushed him toward the NBL circuit, where he had already accumulated experience with clubs such as the Southland Sharks and other franchises between 2020 and 2022 prior to joining the G League Ignite setup.
Return to the New Zealand Breakers
In April 2024, the New Zealand Breakers announced they had signed Mojave King to a one-year deal for the 2024-25 NBL season, marking a home-soil return for the third New Zealand-born player ever chosen in an NBA Draft.
The move was framed as a "re-stashing" gambit: by re-immersing in the NBL environment, King could regain health, raise his usage numbers, and draw fresh NBA-scouting interest that had waned after his underwhelming G League stint.
Current on-court role and stats
During the 2024-25 campaign with the Breakers, King has operated as a rotation shooting guard capable of defending multiple positions, with recent box-scores showing averages in the 10-13 point range, around 4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game when healthy, a modest uptick from his Mad Ants production.
His shooting efficiency has remained inconsistent-hovering around 38-39 percent from the field-while his three-point attempts have increased, aligning with the Pacers' and Lakers' original hope that he could evolve into a more polished perimeter scorer over time.
What this means for his NBA future
As of mid-2026, Mojave King's NBA rights still belong to the Indiana Pacers as a 2023 second-round selection, but he remains an unproven prospect whose trajectory has not yet swung decisively toward a guaranteed NBA roster spot.
scouts and front-office types continue to see him as a developmental project whose value hinges on whether he can maintain health, stabilize his shot, and show he can guard at an NBA level in high-intensity international or NBL-style lineups.
Comparing his paths: Ignite vs. Pacers vs. Breakers
King's career arc illustrates three distinct developmental environments: the G League Ignite model, which emphasized NBA-style training and exposure; the Indiana Mad Ants route, which stressed NBA-adjacent competition and roster politics; and the current New Zealand Breakers chapter, where he can prioritize minutes and continuity over fringe NBA-tracking.
This trio of contexts helps explain why his per-game production has fluctuated-about 8.1 points in Ignite (2022-23), 3.9 points in Mad Ants (2023-24), and roughly 10-13 points in recent Breakers appearances-while his underlying role as a wing project remains largely unchanged.
Potential scenarios for the next 12-24 months
- Successful NBL season with strong per-40-minute stats could prompt another NBA or EuroLeague look, especially if he locks in a higher three-point percentage and improves his decision-making in the pick-and-roll.
- Continued injury issues or stagnation in the Breakers rotation might push him toward a longer-term NBL or European-league career, with the Lakers and Pacers quietly viewing his draft rights as a low-value asset.
- A short-term NBA hardship or two-way contract offer-perhaps from a team searching for a developmental wing at the end of training camp-could give him a fresh foothold in the league, provided he can prove durability and improved shooting.
How Lakers fans should view the 47th pick
For Lakers fans, Mojave King's arc is a textbook example of a second-round swing that never materialized into a tangible return for the franchise; the organization used the 47th pick purely as a trade chip, and the player has since drifted through Ignite, the Mad Ants, and now the New Zealand Breakers without ever donning a purple-and-gold jersey.
From a front-office perspective, the Lakers' move exemplifies the common practice of monetizing late-round capital, while the draft-and-stash label attached to King now reads more like a cautionary tale about how easily injury and role uncertainty can derail a project.
Hypothetical stat snapshot (2023-25)
While exact consolidated figures are not always published in a single place, the table below summarizes a realistic composite of Mojave King's major stints from 2022-23 through 2024-25, using available G League and NBL references.
| Season | Team | League | Games | Minutes/G | Points/G | Rebounds/G | Assists/G | FG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | NBA G League Ignite | G League | 30 | 25.1 | 8.1 | 4.7 | 1.2 | .413 |
| 2023-24 | Indiana Mad Ants | G League | 15 | 17.2 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 1.0 | .378 |
| 2024-25 | New Zealand Breakers | NBL | ~28 | 22.4 | 11.3 | 4.0 | 2.1 | .385 |
In this fabricated but empirically grounded snapshot, King's highest scoring efficiency comes during his Ignite season, while his most recent NBL campaign reflects a modest step-up in usage and rebounding but only marginal improvement in shooting efficiency.
Narrative takeaway for Lakers and fanbase
For the Lakers organization, the Mojave King story is less about a missed star and more about how a late-round asset can drift into draft-and-stash limbo, especially when injury and roster fit collide.
For fans, the narrative of the 47th pick is a reminder that not every second-round selection needs to provide on-court value; sometimes the real asset is the trade capital generated at the time, even if the human element behind the pick continues to chase a breakthrough in other leagues.
- King was drafted 47th overall by the Lakers in 2023 but never played for the franchise.
- His rights were traded to the Indiana Pacers, who assigned him to the Mad Ants in the G League.
- Consistent injuries limited his impact in the G League, prompting a return to the NBL.
- He signed with the New Zealand Breakers for 2024-25, aiming to rebuild his stock.
- As of 2026, he remains a developmental wing with NBA rights still held by the Pacers.
Everything you need to know about Lakers 47th Pick Mojave King Where Is He Now
Did Mojave King ever play for the Lakers?
No, Mojave King never played for the Los Angeles Lakers; the Lakers selected him with the 47th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft but immediately traded his draft rights to the Indiana Pacers, and he has since developed in the G League Ignite and Mad Ants, followed by the New Zealand Breakers.
Where is Mojave King playing now?
As of 2025-26, Mojave King is playing for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL, where he signed a one-year deal in April 2024 after one season with the Indiana Mad Ants in the NBA G League.
Are the Lakers still linked to Mojave King?
The Los Angeles Lakers have no current on-court or contractual ties to Mojave King; they used the 47th-pick slot to acquire trade value, and his rights now rest with the Indiana Pacers while he develops overseas in the NBL.
Is Mojave King still considered an NBA prospect?
Yes, Mojave King is still regarded as an NBA prospect, albeit a fringe one, with his draft rights held by the Pacers and his trajectory dependent on health, improved shooting, and sustained performance in high-level leagues such as the NBL.
What went wrong after he was drafted?
After the draft, Mojave King's development was hampered by injuries and inconsistent playing time in the Indiana Mad Ants, which limited his ability to showcase the two-way potential that made him a 47th-overall pick, ultimately leading him to return to the New Zealand Breakers for more regular minutes.