Bennedict Mathurin has emerged as one of the finest young talents in the NBA in his rookie season. The Canadian is not only in the mix for Rookie of the Year but also for Sixth Man of the Year as he continues to shine for the Indiana Pacers.
Mathurin became somewhat of a household name even before these exploits, however, thanks to some comments he made about LeBron James before the NBA Draft. Mathurin had boldly stated that LeBron would have to prove that he’s better than him, so there was some buzz in the lead-up to the Pacers’ clash with the Los Angeles Lakers in November last year.
Mathurin ended up outplaying James in the matchup, as he had 23 points to go with 8 rebounds while LeBron had 21 points to go with 7 rebounds as the Pacers won 116-115. Mathurin was on The Old Man and the Three podcast recently, where JJ Redick hilariously asked him if LeBron proved that he’s better than him.
(starts at 2:23 mark):
“You’re trying to put me in trouble! Alright, I’m gonna be honest, at the start of the game, he had like 10 points in a row, I was like ‘Ah’ … After that, I was like I’m just doing the game, I missed my first 3 shots then I had a charge so I was like ‘Yo man, you gotta wake up man. Everybody’s watching the game right now.’ But it was great, it was a great game.”
There clearly were some nerves involved for Mathurin, and that was to be expected. Fortunately for him and the Pacers, LeBron wasn’t able to push on from that hot start, and they came away with a big win. These teams will face off for the last time this season at the start of February, and we might get some fireworks in that one.
NBA Expects LeBron James To Break The All-Time Scoring Record In February
While the game against the Pacers on the 2nd of February would probably be a bit too early for James to surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and become the all-time leading scorer, it will almost certainly happen at some point later in the month. James is less than 300 points behind Kareem, and the NBA expects him to break the record next month.
Commissioner Adam Silver stated that the league will plan a large celebration for the momentous occasion, as they should. It will be a special night when James breaks the record, and we can’t wait for it.
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