Excitement and nerves tend to betray anyone, especially the inexperienced. It happens in life and also in professional sports, such as the NBA, where a newcomer, picked straight out of the 2022 Draft by Indiana Pacers, may have gotten into trouble early after issuing a stiff challenge to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
The small forward is undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions not only in the NBA today, but in the world of sports. Starting with his achievements on the court, such as the league championship rings he owns, which have led him to be compared even to a legend the size of Michael Jordan.
And continuing with his expertise as a businessman, he has been able to perfectly combine his sporting talent with marketing, a fusion that has made him enter the very select group of athletes who have become billionaires, where he can once again have a conversation at the same table with Jordan. Undoubtedly, LeBron James is a legend of American sports.
Indiana Pacers rookie comes to NBA with challenge to LeBron James
NBA Draft 2022 was held at the Barclays Center in New York. One of the moves that took place was Canadian-born small forward Bennedict Mathurin, who was drafted by the Indiana Pacers out of the University of Arizona in the first round; he was the sixth overall selection.
LeBron James was the first overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft, when Mathurin was just 1 year old. However, the experience and legacy of King James seems not to be enough for the new Indiana Pacers player, who issued a disrespectful challenge to the Los Angeles Lakers star.
“A lot of people say he’s great. 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“, stated Bennedict Mathurin in an interview for Washington Post’s Ben Golliver.
Mathurin has shown, at least in terms of statements, that he has courage and self-confidence, though perhaps not manners. The kid who was raised in a troubled neighborhood will have to prove his words on the court with the Indiana Pacers, who have trusted him by making him the first NBA Latin America Academy graduate to be selected in a draft.
