Bennedict Mathurin was picked with the 6th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers with the hopes that he’d make waves in the NBA world. He definitely did that very early on in his career, just not on the court, but with his comments about a certain LeBron James.
Mathurin claimed that he wanted to test LeBron and that the King has to show that he is better than him. That is quite a bold thing to say when you are entering the league and Mathurin clarified his comments earlier today.
I asked Bennedict Mathurin about his viral LeBron James quote in @BenGolliver’s story (https://t.co/6H5NP11nGy):
“I think he’s the best player to ever play the game. … But me just coming into the league, I won’t say anybody’s better than me. That’s me being confident.” #Pacers pic.twitter.com/v1i8cQa2ke
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) July 1, 2022
“It’s about being confident like you said. LeBron is one of the greatest players to ever play the game. I think he’s the best player to ever play the game. I think people probably misunderstood what I was trying to say. But me just coming into the league, I won’t say anybody’s better than me. That’s me being confident. I know who LeBron James is… no disrespect to LeBron James.”
That is the right mindset to have coming into the NBA, as you need to have supreme confidence in your own abilities when you enter a grown man’s league. If you don’t have that belief in yourself, then it is easy to get overwhelmed and Mathurin seems ready for the challenge. He did a good job clarifying those comments though, as saying something like that about LeBron can backfire tremendously.
Mathurin can now shift his focus to what really matters, which is preparing himself this offseason to make an immediate impact on the Pacers. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1 steal per game for the Arizona Wildcats in what was a fine sophomore campaign that saw him crowned Pac-12 Player of the Year. He now gets paired with Tyrese Haliburton, with the two of them looking to form one of the best young backcourts in the NBA and be the pillars of the Pacers franchise for the years to come.
