Orlando Magic rookie and the No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero may be the early front-runner for the 2022-23 Rookie of the Year Award, but Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin is on his heels.
Mathurin's Pacers teammate Tyrese Haliburton recently appeared on former NBA player JJ Redick's The Old Man & the Three podcast and explained the one thing that separates Mathurin from all the other rookies so far.
“This guy gets to the free-throw line better than any other rookie I have ever seen. He just lives there,” Haliburton said. “I told him early in the year, ‘go play the four right now. I'm going to run a pick and roll and throw it back to you and when you catch it, catch it on the run and go to the hoop.' He always goes to the free-throw line.”
The ability to get to the free-throw line goes a long way in a player becoming a consistent and efficient offensive threat. On the season, Bennedict Mathurin is taking just about six attempts from the free-throw line per game. He's knocking them down at an 84.6 percent clip. By comparison, Paolo Banchero, however, is getting to the line 8.3 times per game and shooting it at a 76.9 percent clip. Both Banchero and Mathurin lead all rookies this season in free-throw attempts.
Right now it appears to be a two-player race for Rookie of the Year with Banchero gaining a slight advantage. But if Mathurin can get his free-throw attempts up a little closer to Banchero, he could possibly surpass him. He's already a better free-throw shooter percentage wise and a much better three-point shooter.
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