Bennedict Mathurin is having his NBA Finals moment. The 22-year-old is a player who came into the league with a lot of confidence. So much so that he even put out a challenge to the NBA’s current King, LeBron James, in his rookie season in 2022
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The No. 6 pick for the Indiana Pacers boldly claimed that he wanted to see LBJ prove that he was a better player than he was. “I don’t think anybody is better than me. LeBron is going to have to show me he’s better than me,” he said in an interview with the Washington Post at the time.
Mathurin later proved that he could back up his words when the Lakers and the Pacers faced off in November of that season.
At just 20 years old, he dropped 23 points and snatched 8 rebounds in a 116-115 Indy win. How did LeBron do? 21 points and 7 rebounds. He asked the King to outplay him, and he couldn’t do it.
Well, those words mean even more now. Mathurin played a pivotal role in the Pacers’ Game 3 NBA Finals matchup against the OKC Thunder. Coming off the bench, he dropped 27 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and had 1 assist. He turned it on just when his team needed him, as the Pacers would go on to win Game 3 116-107.
The official NBA on ESPN account on X even gave a nod to the 22-year-old’s famous words to LeBron by commending him on his excellent play.
Leading the Pacers in scoring in a Finals game right now btw pic.twitter.com/ZlYWPa3btJ
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 12, 2025
It’s not that Mathurin just led his team in scoring. It’s that in a very close game, he stepped up big. The Thunder held a 5-point lead over the Pacers at the end of the third quarter, but the lead could have been much larger had Mr. Bennedict not shown up.
The Pacers now hold a 2-1 lead over the No. 1-seeded Thunder, with one more game to be played in Indy. It seems that the Pacers’ magical run may end the way most fairy tales should: with the team hoisting up a Larry O’Brien trophy.
