Bennedict Mathurin

Mathurin is a Canadian wing who entered the NBA as a 2022 lottery pick and quickly established himself as one of the Pacers primary scoring options. Drafted sixth overall by Indiana, he brought a Pac-12 Player of the Year résumé, consensus second-team All-American credentials, and a decorated international background with Canadian junior national teams. He was named a 2023 NBA Rising Star and has developed into a key rotation player for a Pacers team built around Tyrese Haliburton.

Born on June 19, 2002, in Montreal, Quebec, Mathurin grew up in the Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighborhood. He is of Haitian descent through his parents and has one older brother who played college basketball. He attended the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City, a development program designed to identify and cultivate top prospects from Latin America and the Caribbean. His time at the academy exposed him to high-level training and international competition before he moved to the United States for college basketball.

Mathurin committed to the University of Arizona and played two seasons for the Wildcats. As a freshman, he averaged 10.8 points and 4.8 rebounds and was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team. He improved significantly as a sophomore, averaging 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 45 percent from the field and 37 percent from three-point range. He was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, a consensus second-team All-American, and earned multiple conference honors. He led Arizona to a Pac-12 regular season title and an appearance in the NCAA tournament before declaring for the 2022 draft.

The Indiana Pacers selected Mathurin with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft. He joined a rebuilding Indiana team and immediately became a focal point of the offense. He averaged over 16 points per game as a rookie, demonstrated three-level scoring ability, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. His scoring bursts, transition attacks, and willingness to defend multiple positions made him a building block for the Pacers alongside Tyrese Haliburton. He was also named a 2023 Rising Star, sharing the honor with teammate Andrew Nembhard.

Mathurin is a versatile wing scorer with elite athleticism, a smooth shooting stroke, and the ability to attack the rim in transition and half-court sets. He scores off the dribble with crossovers and hesitations, finishes above the rim with either hand, and has developed into a reliable three-point shooter. His defensive versatility allows him to guard wings and some forwards, and his rebounding rates for a wing are above average. His offensive game continues to mature as he adds off-ball movement, pick-and-roll reads, and improved decision-making to his natural scoring instincts.

Mathurin enters the 2025–26 season as an Indiana Pacers wing with a lottery-pick pedigree, Pac-12 Player of the Year honors, consensus All-American recognition, a 2023 Rising Star selection, and a reputation as one of the most dynamic Canadian scorers in the NBA. His path from Montreal to the NBA Academy Latin America, through Arizona, and into the Indiana rotation reflects a rapid developmental curve built on athleticism, scoring confidence, and defensive versatility.