Former Liberty guard Taelon Peter is set to make his NBA debut on opening night for the Indiana Pacers Thursday night. The Pacers open the 2025-26 season against the defending NBA Champions Oklahoma City Thunder with tipoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. from Indianapolis on ESPN. On Wednesday, the Pacers announced Peter would be part of the team’s opening night roster.
Peter, who was taken by the Pacers as the 54th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft this past summer, became the third player in Liberty’s program history and the first in the Division I era to be selected in the NBA Draft. Peter is the first Flame selected in the draft in 40 years, when Cliff Webber was drafted in the fourth round by the Boston Celtics. With the selection, Peter becomes the highest NBA Draft pick in program history. Liberty’s other previous NBA Draft picks include Webber (1985/Round 4/Boston Celtics) and Ezra Hill (1984/Round 10/Phoenix Suns).
Following a strong Summer League with the Pacers, Peter earned the team’s final two-way contract for the 2025-26 season. Peter averaged 9.5 points per game on 57.1% shooting during the summer and did enough to cement his status with his new team. The 6-foot-4 standout will split his time next season between the NBA and the Noblesville Boom in the G League. He is eligible to be active for up to 50 games in the NBA and will earn $636,435, which is equal to 50% of the minimum salary applicable to a player with zero years of service.
Peter continued his strong play during the preseason, averaging 24 minutes in four games. He also averaged 10 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 45.2% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range.
Peter looks to become just the third player to finish their collegiate career at Liberty to play in an NBA regular season game, joining Julius Nwosu and Peter Aluma. Nwosu played 23 games during the regular season for the San Antonio Spurs during the 1994-94 season while Aluma played in two games for the Sacramento Kings during the 1998-99 season. Seth Curry was recruited by Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay and spent his first year with the Flames before transferring to Duke. Curry is currently with the Golden State Warriors and has spent 11 seasons in the NBA.
Peter was the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year last season, averaging 13.7 points, four rebounds and one assist on 45.3% shooting from 3-point range. He led the country in true shooting percentage (72.4) and was 19th in player efficiency rating (27.2). He was the team’s leading scorer (13.7 ppg) on the year despite only starting two times. The guard shot 57.8 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from three. Peter’s three-point percentage during the 2024-25 season established a new school single-season record.
Peter had three games of 30 or more points, including a pair of 33-point games in league play on the road at Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee. His 33-point efforts were both the highest scoring output of any player off the bench in program history. He averaged 16.5 ppg in 18 league regular season games while shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three. The Russellville, Ark. native averaged 15.0 ppg on 76.2 percent shooting in three CUSA championship games. Peter and the Flames finished the year with a 28-7 overall record and 13-5 CUSA mark, winning both the CUSA regular season and tournament titles.
