Bennedict Mathurin on LeBron James: I think he's the best player ever but I won't say anybody is better than me

James Boyd: I asked Bennedict Mathurin about his viral LeBron James quote in @Ben Golliver’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
Source: Twitter @RomeovilleKid

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

David Hardisty @clutchfans
Seven teams in the West look like strong playoff bets: Phoenix, Golden State, LA Clippers, Memphis, Denver, Dallas and likely Minnesota.
New Orleans will be better. Lakers have LeBron/AD. Portland, Sacramento want in badly. TBD on Utah.
Very competitive in the West right now. – 5:02 PM James Boyd @RomeovilleKid
Bennedict Mathurin ends his first #Pacers practice with a tough bucket over player development assistant Maurice Baker. pic.twitter.com/Tar2WvWcIV – 5:00 PM James Boyd @RomeovilleKid
I asked Bennedict Mathurin about his viral LeBron James quote in @Ben Golliver’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 – 4:51 PM Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Here’s several Pacers shooting after summer league practice
Bennedict Mathurin
Tevin Brown
Isaiah Jackson
Andrew Nembhard pic.twitter.com/3uj5s7Fnam – 4:28 PM Scott Agness @ScottAgness
First Pacers practice complete for No. 6 pick Bennedict Mathurin. He brought a great spirit and finished the day with swish pic.twitter.com/vPYkXug0GN – 4:25 PM James Boyd @RomeovilleKid
Bennedict Mathurin, Tevin Brown, Isaiah Jackson and Andrew Nembhard shooting 3s at the end of the #Pacers’ first Summer League practice today. pic.twitter.com/JrIgi9gYRb – 4:12 PM Shandel Richardson @ShandelRich
David Fizdale, LeBron and Heat Culture #miamiheat si.com/nba/heat/miami… – 4:04 PM Jorge Sierra @hoopshype
This is shaping up to be the best non-LeBron offseason in recent history. – 4:03 PM Brad Turner @BA_Turner
Worked with My dude ⁦@Dan Woike⁩ for this in ⁦@latimessports⁩ on: Kyrie Irving still in the Lakers’ picture to rejoin LeBron James latimes.com/sports/lakers/… – 1:04 PM Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Lots to get into on the Lakers and possibly getting Kyrie Irving and reuniting him with LeBron James. I’ll discuss that & more on @NBATV with @NabilKarimTV, @Greg Anthony & Ryan McDonough. Tune in at 9:30 am PT on.nba.com/32wcN7b – 12:01 PM Dan Favale @danfavale
the timestamps for the latest @HardwoodKnocks look like lebron’s ig stories (flipped vertically) pic.twitter.com/OERg1qiXoi – 4:38 AM StatMuse @statmuse
Players to average 25/5/5 in a season before turning 23:
Oscar Robertson
Michael Jordan
Tracy McGrady
LeBron James
Luka Doncic
Ja Morant. pic.twitter.com/QfvuAIjxKr – 12:10 AM Tony East @TEastNBA
The July moratorium has begun for the 2022-23 NBA league year. The Pacers are now permitted to:
-Sign Bennedict Mathurin to his rookie scale deal
-Sign a restricted free agent to an offer sheet (though they wouldn’t until 7/6)
-Sign players to minimum or two-way contracts – 12:04 AM David Locke @DLocke09
Maybe LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh deserve more credit for holding their super team together since every other “super” team has at some point been a dumpster fire – 10:57 PM Chris Palmer @ChrisPalmerNBA
Ultimately, Anthony Davis being represented by Klutch Sports may prevent LeBron from winning his 5th Ring. LeBron and AD are very close. LeBron is fiercely loyal to his friends. But you can’t win a ring in street clothes. – 10:21 PM Sam Amick @sam_amick
Does the Kevin Durant trade request in Brooklyn give a Kyrie Irving-LeBron James reunion in Laker Land new life? All the answers here, with @Jovan Buha, at @TheAthletic
theathletic.com/3394038/2022/0… – 9:39 PM Micah Adams @MicahAdams13
Lakers on current roster:
7 – Klutch clients
6 – non-Klutch clients
LeBron, AD, THT, JTA, Nunn, Brown Jr., Lonnie Walker
That doesn’t include Summer League guys like Scotty Pippen Jr. – 8:51 PM StatMuse @statmuse
JaVale McGee has played with some elite talent:
LeBron James
Anthony Davis
Steph Curry
Klay Thompson
Draymond Green
Kevin Durant
Nikola Jokic
Devin Booker
Chris Paul
Dirk Nowitzki
And now, Luka Doncic. pic.twitter.com/JW2sI7Cnb8 – 7:51 PM Sam Quinn @SamQuinnCBS
Lonnie Walker’s defensive metrics last season:
D-RAPTOR: -1.8
D-EPM: -0.8
D-LEBRON: -1.85
DRPM: -4.79 (119th out of 123 SGs)
So… yea… he needs to work on his defense. But he’s athletic and he has a 6’10” wingspan, so maybe that’s fixable. – 7:38 PM Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
LAL roster:
Troy Brown Jr.
Anthony Davis
Wenyen Gabriel
Talen Horton-Tucker
LeBron James
Stanley Johnson
Damian Jones
Kendrick Nunn
Austin Reaves
Lonnie Walker IV
Russell Westbrook
4 roster spots to fill. Minimum Exception is all they have left. 1 spot will go to Max Christie. – 7:07 PM James Boyd @RomeovilleKid
About 40 minutes until NBA free agency begins, meaning you have enough to read my in-depth feature on #Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin.
#Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd told me there’s “an inferno burning inside” of him. indystar.com/story/sports/n… – 5:23 PM Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
Now on @njdotcom
NBA rumors: Kyrie Irving wants to re-join LeBron James with the Lakers ‘as soon as he possibly can’ nj.com/sports/2022/06… – 5:20 PM James Boyd @RomeovilleKid
#Pacers Summer League roster:
Bennie Boatwright
Eli Brooks
Kendall Brown
Tevin Brown
David DiLeo
Chris Duarte
Nate Hinton
Isaiah Jackson
Bennedict Mathurin
Andrew Nembhard
Jermaine Samuels Jr.
Simi Shittu
Terry Taylor
Duane Washington Jr.
Gabe York
Fanbo Zeng
📸 me pic.twitter.com/KDDuiZwVnJ – 2:17 PM Tony East @TEastNBA
Pacers announce a Rookie/Free Agent Camp Roster:
Bennie Boatwright
Eli Brooks
Kendall Brown
Tevin Brown
David DiLeo
Chris Duarte
Nate Hinton
Isaiah Jackson
Bennedict Mathurin
Andrew Nembhard
Jermaine Samuels
Simi Shittu
Terry Taylor
Duane Washington
Gabe York
Fanbo Zeng – 2:14 PM Quinton Mayo @RealQuintonMayo
Which rookie jersey is a MUST cop for you? 🤔
Here’s my Top-5:
1. Jeremy Sochan, Spurs – 10
2. Jabari Smith, Rockets – TBD
3. Jalen/Jaylin Williams, Thunder – 8 & 6
4. Jaden Ivey, Pistons – 23
5. Bennedict Mathurin, Pacers – 00
https://t.co/Y149BBgvGO pic.twitter.com/UjsgHii9tV – 10:18 PM

More on this storyline

With the Brooklyn Nets about to blow up their roster in the wake of Kevin Durant’s trade demand Thursday, Kyrie Irving appears on his way out the door, too. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported on air Thursday that Irving wants to re-join LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers “as soon as he possibly can.” “He’s been telling people he wants to be in L.A., he’s been telling people he wants to wear the same uniform that Kobe Bryant once wore,” Smith said. -via Newark Star-Ledger / June 30, 2022 Clutch Points: “They could contend, but they won’t beat us.” 🗣️ Draymond Green on a possible Kyrie Irving/LeBron James reunion with the Lakers (via @lucas_shaw) pic.twitter.com/L2OGMYcwVd -via Twitter @ClutchPointsApp / June 26, 2022 “Let me tell you, the difference between four and three may as well be having one and four. It feels so night and day, like the rarefied air that we’re in after winning the fourth one than the third one, it’s just so rare,” Green said. “I was on the phone with ‘Bron the other day, and I’m just telling him like ‘Bruh, going from three to four is insane’ and he was like ‘Yo, I’m telling you, It’s crazy.” -via Clutch Points / June 26, 2022 Pritchard conceded, that the rebuild is going to take some time, and he’s right. There are no shortcuts, especially for a small-market franchise that isn’t a destination for big-time free agents. The Pacers aren’t asking anybody to be patient through some kind of midwestern version of The Process, but last year’s trade for Tyrese Haliburton and this week’s draft of Mathurin, Nembhard and Brown, are a hopeful beginning. “One of the things I’m absolutely convinced of, these three young men will be a part of this organization for a long time,” Pritchard said. “We wanted to get more athletic, more dynamic and bring some intelligence. All three demonstrated that athleticism and drive to win. The one common denominator is, they all love to play.” -via The Athletic / June 27, 2022 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.” -via Washington Post / June 25, 2022 James Boyd: New #Pacers numbers: Bennedict Mathurin is wearing No. 00 (because Tyrese Haliburton has Mathurin’s college number 0) Kendall Brown is wearing No. 10 Andrew Nembhard is wearing No. 2 -via Twitter @RomeovilleKid / June 24, 2022