Paolo Banchero may be the favorite for the NBA's Rookie of the Year Award, but Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin sure is making things interesting. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Mathurin is making his own case for the award all while coming off the bench. While he has certainly entered his name in the conversation, Mathurin is just focused on making the right play as per Brandon Robinson of Bally Sports.
“I mean, it comes with it by the way I play. I’m not saying that every night I’ll get 20-25 points,” Mathurin said. “I’m just trying to make the right play, have fun and win the game with my teammates.”
Bennedict Mathurin has suited up in all 32 games for the Pacers so far and has come off the bench for all but one. In those games, he is putting up 17.5 points per game and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from three-point range. He's also taking almost six attempts from the free-throw line and converting them at an 81.1 percent clip.
Back before even summer league, Mathurin made headlines when he made a bold claim about facing off against LeBron James once the season began. He was able to back up his talk when the two squared off for the first time last month.
The Pacers have been a surprise team in the Eastern Conference this season and the duo of Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton is one of the top young duos in the league. Mathurin told Robinson that he can't really compare Haliburton to any other player.
“To be honest, I haven’t really seen any. He’s really an unselfish player. He also leads the league in assists (10.7 per game), you know?” Mathurin said. “He’s missed a couple of games, but he STILL leads the league. He’s an amazing player. Very unselfish and a good leader while helping the team stick together.”
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