Bennedict Mathurin scores 27 on Wednesday night

Bennedict Mathurin is among the Rookie of the Year candidates in the NBA. He was selected in the 2022 NBA Draft as the 6th overall pick of the Indiana Pacers.

The talented guard, as of Thursday morning, has appeared in three preseason games thus far in October. In those games, Mathurin, who is 6’6″, has shown some scoring punch. He seems to be a candidate for a starting job in the NBA this season.

Bennedict Mathurin’s stats from preseason appearances

In the preseason, you aren’t necessarily playing against bonified NBA players. However, for what it’s worth, Mathurin has looked like a prolific scorer thus far.

In the first preseason game, Mathurin played 19 minutes and scored 15 points for the Pacers. He went 5 for 10 from the field but 0 for 4 on three-pointers. In his second preseason game, Mathurin played 18 minutes. He scored 19 points, which is better than a point per minute. He was 7 for 15 from the field and 2 for 3 from three-point land.

However, Mathurin only had one assist in the two games combined. That could be a problem for a player in the guard position.

Most recently, Mathurin played on Wednesday night for the Indiana Pacers. In 30 minutes, he scored 27 points on 8 for 13 shooting before fouling out of the game. He continued to have problems with assists as he only managed one in the 30 minutes of court time.

Mathurin’s betting odds for ROY

Currently, Mathurin, a shooting guard, is the 5th favorite with bet365 for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. He is 11 to 1 with the sportsbook behind Jabari Smith Jr., Keegan Murray (our pick to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year), Jaden Ivey, and Paolo Banchero. Murray and Ivey have shown the most promise in the regular season so far. Mathurin will need to show that he has more than just scoring punch.

The Pacers still have one preseason game remaining. They will face Houston on October 14th. After that, it’s the game that matters and it will be interesting to see if the rookie has a starting job.