Bennedict Richard Felder Mathurin (born June 19, 2002) is a Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the Indiana Pacers of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the Arizona Wildcats, where he was named a consensus second-team All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year after his sophomore season. He was selected by the Pacers with the sixth overall pick in the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The ...

. He was voted to the

NBA All-Rookie First Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

and was snubbed of the

NBA Rookie of the Year The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...

award.

Early life and career

Mathurin is a native of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and grew up playing

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

and football as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. He competed for the Quebec provincial basketball team. In 2018, Mathurin joined the NBA Academy Latin America in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, becoming its first Canadian-born player. He committed to playing college basketball for

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, choosing the Wildcats over Baylor. He was considered the best Canadian prospect in his class by North Pole Hoops.

College career

On January 2, 2021, Mathurin posted 24 points and 11 rebounds in an 86–82 win over

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

. On January 14, he recorded 31 points and eight rebounds in a 98–64 win over

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

. Mathurin averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, shooting 41.8 percent from three-point range. Despite gaining interest as a draft prospect, he decided to return for his sophomore season. On December 11, 2021, Mathurin scored 30 points in a 83–79 win against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. Mathurin won the 2022 Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player after leading the Wildcats to their eight conference tournament title. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, the ninth player in Arizona Wildcats history to do so. Following his Sophomore season, Mathurin was voted a consensus second-team All-American, the fifth in Wildcat to make second team and thirtieth All-American in school history. By winning conference player of the year he became the 31st Arizona Wildcat men's basketball player to have his name put into the school's Ring of Honor. On April 14, 2022, Mathurin declared for the

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Indiana Pacers (2022–present)

2022–23 season: rookie season

Mathurin was selected with the sixth overall pick by the Indiana Pacers in the

. He is the first ever player from

to be selected as a lottery pick. He joined the seventh overall pick, Shaedon Sharpe, as the only Canadians drafted in the first round that year. Mathurin was the Pacers' highest pick the franchise has owned since selecting

Rik Smits Rik Smits (born 23 August 1966), nicknamed "the Dunking Dutchman" is a Dutch former professional basketball player who spent his entire career with the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The center was drafted by the ...

second overall in the

1988 NBA draft The 1988 NBA draft took place on June 28, 1988, in New York City, New York. The length was reduced from seven rounds in the previous year to three rounds. This was also the first draft for the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, prior to their i ...

. On July 3, 2022, Mathurin signed his rookie contract with the Pacers. On July 8, he made his NBA Summer League debut, recording 23 points and four rebounds in a 96–84 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Ten days later, Mathurin was named to the All-NBA Summer League Second Team, averaging 19.3 points, 4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. On October 19, Mathurin made his regular season debut coming off the bench, recording 19 points in a 114–107 loss to the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

. He would follow that performance, by scoring 26 points against Jeremy Sochan and the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

on October 21, and 27 points against Jaden Ivey and the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

on October 22. His 72 points through the first three games of the season was the most by a rookie since

Jerry Stackhouse Jerry Darnell Stackhouse (born November 5, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores men's team. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and ...

scored 76 to start off the

1995–96 NBA season The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA), though the 50th anniversary was not celebrated until the following season. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 4 games to 2 in the NBA Final ...

. On October 26, he became the first Pacer to score 100-plus points through their first five career games. On October 29, Mathurin set a career high with 32 points on 6-of-9 three-point shooting, and five rebounds in a 125–116 win over the

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The ...

. On November 9, Mathurin recorded 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, and 6-of-9 shooting from three in a loss to the Denver Nuggets. On December 1, Mathurin was named Eastern Conference Kia Rookie of the Month, averaging 19.2 points, 4 rebounds, on 40.3% three-point shooting. On January 31, 2023, Mathurin was named a 2023

NBA Rising Star The Rising Stars Challenge is a basketball exhibition game held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) on the Friday before the annual All-Star Game as part of the All-Star Weekend. The current format to be used in 2022 includes first- an ...

alongside standout rookie teammate

Andrew Nembhard Andrew William Nembhard (born January 16, 2000) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators and the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Col ...

. On February 13, after scoring 21 points against the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

, Mathurin became the fastest Pacer rookie since

Chuck Person Chuck Connors Person (born June 28, 1964) is an American former basketball player and coach. Person played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was the 1987 NBA Rookie of the Year. Person played college basketball at Aubur ...

in the 1986–87 season to reach 1,000 career points. With the Pacers dropping out of

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

contention, Mathurin became a starter over the last 10 games of his rookie season. On March 28, as a starter against the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

, Mathurin recorded 29 points and a career-high 9 rebounds, while passing teammate Chris Duarte for most three-pointers made as a rookie in Pacers franchise history. At the season's end, he finished fourth in 2023's NBA Rookie of the Year Award voting and earned

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for player ...

honors.

National team career

Mathurin played for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Riga and Daugavpils, Latvia after being cut from the Olympic team. On July 4, 2021, he scored a team-high 30 points, shooting 11-of-15 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range, in a 100–75 group-stage win over Japan. One week later, Mathurin scored 31 points to lead Canada to a 101–92 victory over

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

in the third-place game and win the bronze medal. He averaged 16.1 points and four rebounds per game in the tournament.

Career statistics

NBA

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, 78 , , 17 , , 28.5 , , .434 , , .323 , , .828 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 16.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 78 , , 17 , , 28.5 , , .434 , , .323 , , .828 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , .2 , , 16.7

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2020–21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 26 , , 12 , , 25.0 , , .471 , , .418 , , .846 , , 4.8 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .1 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 32.5 , , .450 , , .369 , , .764 , , 5.6 , , 2.5 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , 17.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 63 , , 49 , , 29.4 , , .456 , , .383 , , .789 , , 5.3 , , 2.0 , , .9 , , .2 , , 14.8

Personal life

Mathurin is of Haitian descent. His older sister, Jennifer, played college basketball for

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

. When Mathurin was 12 years old, his 15-year-old brother died in a bicycle accident. He speaks English, French, Spanish, and Creole.

References

External links

Arizona Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathurin, Bennedict 2002 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball players Basketball players from Montreal Canadian expatriate basketball people in the United States National Basketball Association players from Canada Canadian men's basketball players Canadian people of Haitian descent Indiana Pacers draft picks Indiana Pacers players Shooting guards Small forwards