LeBron James is one of the greatest players of our generation, and there’s no question that his impact on the game has been immense. Some people believe that the only person ahead of him when it comes to all-time rankings is Michael Jordan.
When players face LeBron James, there is a degree of admiration and sometimes fear. However, new Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin has recently claimed that he wants to test LeBron James, claiming that the Lakers star is “going to have to show” him that he’s a better player. Ben Golliver of The Washington Post relayed the news.
Before slipping off to his hotel room to make his final preparations for the draft, Mathurin said that there was one test, maybe the biggest of all, that he was particularly looking forward as a rookie: His first game against Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.
“A lot of people say he’s great,” Mathurin said. “I want to see how great he is. I don’t think anybody is better than me. He’s going to have to show me he’s better than me.”
Bennedict Mathurin was a great 3PT shooter and shot creator on the college level, and also a dynamic athlete. However, it is unlikely that he will be a better player than LeBron James coming into his first season in the league. With that being said, confidence has never hurt anyone coming into the league, and we’ll see how Mathurin does against James in their first matchup next season.
The Indiana Pacers are in a good place regarding their rebuild: they already had solid players in Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte, and now Bennedict Mathurin will be able to get in that mix. They were notably considering trading veteran Myles Turner, so it shows that they are trying to develop a core for the future. Bennedict Mathurin will be a key part of their success going forward, and hopefully, he becomes the star they are looking for.
