Benedict Mathurin was a top 6 pick for the Indiana Pacers, but the rookie has already taken some shots at LeBron James, which might not be the smartest move.
Before the full evaluation process in the 2022 NBA Draft, there were some questioning how high Arizona Wildcats producer Bennedict Mathurin would be. In the end, it was clearly not a top 3 pick, but it still feels like locking in as a top 10 pick.
That turned out to be the case thanks to the Indiana Pacers after the franchise picked him with the sixth overall pick in the draft. Mathurin will be paired with a strong, young core on the Pacers roster which could provide some risky combinations going forward.
However, the former Arizona star appears to be looking more to challenging himself individually. That is, he wants to go after the best in the game (or at least one of them): LeBron James.
Pacers: Benedict Mathurin needs LeBron James to prove his greatness to him
in meeting with Washington PostMathurin spoke about LeBron James, saying he’s heard how great “The King” is and, most importantly, James has to prove to the next rookie that he’s the best player.
There are several ways to take a statement like this, and they all vary in what they could mean.
One read therefore would be that the Pacers must love Mathurin’s supreme confidence. He came to the league after never playing in the NBA, thinking he could be said to be one of the top three players of all-time to show him that he never quit the rookie.
Another way to look at the comments, though, is to have a young player who needs to be untied by one of the legends of the modern league and who’s still playing. Then, somewhere in between those two looks, we have a player who has the right amount of arrogance it takes to be cool but might also tease the bear a little too much for someone who hasn’t played any game yet.
Regardless, Mathurin lights a fire straight from the gate. We’ll have to figure out if that’s good or bad for him and the Pacers family, but it’s definitely fun off-season for fans.
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