12/16/2025 10:18:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
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Former GCU star averaged 16.9 points, 7.9 rebounds this season in G League
By: Paul Coro
This ascending era of Grand Canyon basketball has an NBA breakthrough with the Indiana Pacers signing former Lopes star Gabe McGlothan to a contract Tuesday.
McGlothan made massive improvement this G League season for the Pacers affiliate, Noblesville Boom, to earn the 10-day hardship exception contract and become Grand Canyon's first NBA-rostered player since Horacio Llamas played for the Phoenix Suns in 1997-98. McGlothan will be the third Lopes player to make an NBA regular-season roster, also joining Bayard Forest of the Phoenix Suns in the late 1970s.
The 26-year-old native of Gilbert, Arizona, will suit up for the Pacers' next game Thursday night against New York in Indidanapolis.
"We are so excited for Gabe," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "What a great ambassador for GCU to put on an NBA jersey. He works extremely hard, is all about the team and plays to win. Lope Nation is cheering for him."
McGlothan, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound forward, improved his statistics across the board from his rookie season with Denver Nuggets affiliate Grand Rapids to this season with Noblesville. He bumped his field goal percentage from 42% to 58% and had season averages of:
16.9 points per game (7.9 last season)
7.9 rebounds per game (4.3 last season)
1.9 steals per game (0.9 last season)
1.9 assists per game (0.8 last season)
After playing for the Dallas Mavericks in his second NBA Summer League this year, McGlothan signed an Exhibit 10 contract to join the Indiana Pacers' training camp and preseason. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in three NBA preseason appearances before moving to Noblesville for the regular season. He also spent the 2024-25 season in the G League with Grand Rapids on an Exhibit 10 contract with the Denver Nuggets.
McGlothan has posted a true shooting percentage of 65%, an 11% bump from last season. He has scored 9.7 of his 16.9 points per game in the paint for Noblesville and grabbed 38% of the Boom's offensive rebounds.
GCU went 94-32 over McGlothan's four playing season at GCU, where he took a medical redshirt for his first year with the Lopes. He played on three GCU teams that won WAC Tournament championships and earned NCAA Tournament qualifications.
He was a member of the first Lopes team to win an NCAA Division I Tournament game in 2024, when GCU upset Saint Mary's and challenged Alabama in the second round. McGlothan, whose brother played soccer at GCU and mother works for GCU, holds the program's D-I era record for career rebounds at 856 and ranks fourth in points with 1,329.
"Basketball is a path where it can just take you so many places, whether it's on the court or whether it's off the court," McGlothan said in a recent Noblesville video. "i think it translates to every aspect of life and ultimately it's an outlet to find joy and that peace. I think I'm most excited for that success of hopefully my own story but also other teammates' story. I like to be cheering other guys on as they chase their dreams too."
An NBA team is allowed to sign a player to a 10-day hardship exception contract if it has four players out injured for three consecutive games and if those players are expect to miss at least two more weeks. Indiana lost All-Star Tyrese Haliburton for the season has been without Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin and Ben Sheppard. Nesmith played for Drew when he coached Vanderbilt.
Former GCU basketball star Gabe McGlothan spoke to all Lopes student-athletes at the September "Welcome Back" event.
McGlothan made massive improvement this G League season for the Pacers affiliate, Noblesville Boom, to earn the 10-day hardship exception contract and become Grand Canyon's first NBA-rostered player since Horacio Llamas played for the Phoenix Suns in 1997-98. McGlothan will be the third Lopes player to make an NBA regular-season roster, also joining Bayard Forest of the Phoenix Suns in the late 1970s.
After playing for the Dallas Mavericks in his second NBA Summer League this year, McGlothan signed an Exhibit 10 contract to join the Indiana Pacers' training camp and preseason. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in three NBA preseason appearances before moving to Noblesville for the regular season. He also spent the 2024-25 season in the G League with Grand Rapids on an Exhibit 10 contract with the Denver Nuggets.
