2022 NBA Draft Profile: Bennedict Mathurin
A tailor-made 3-and-D player, does Bennedict Mathurin have more to offer as a playmaker to unlock his game in the NBA?
Position: SG, Arizona
Age: 20
Height: 6 ft 6 in
Wingspan: 6 ft 9 in
Weight: 210 lbs
The Sales Pitch: Bennedict Mathurin promises to deliver NBA-ready offense from the moment he is drafted. He shot at an elite level over his two seasons at Arizona while operating in many roles, ranging from off-ball weapon to secondary, and, at times, primary ball handler. His ability to play in the pick-and-roll and operate as an off-ball cutter/shooter with tremendous finishing makes him a Swiss army knife for any modern NBA offense. Not to mention he can bring down the house with some nasty dunks. He uses his size well on rebounds and is a terrific grab-and-go type guard. Every team that has playoff dreams needs players with his combination of explosiveness and skill to turbocharge an offense, and you can be sure he will compete on defense too. Did I mention all of that is his floor? If he improves his ball handling, all bets on what his ceiling is are off.
Elite Traits/Skills: Shooting versatility and athleticism
The Devil’s Advocate Argument: The concern with Mathurin is that you would be using a lottery pick on what amounts to a “3-and-D” 2 guard at the moment. If you do not buy into the creator upside, whether pick-and-roll or iso, you would find it hard to justify using such a valuable asset on a strictly off-ball player. He is a very good shooter, but very good shooters can be had much later in the draft — to be worth a lotto pick, he needs to be a great one. He can be inconsistent on defense, too, despite his length and tools — sometimes falling asleep, not often getting steals or blocks or deflections, and hardly grabbing rebounds, so you would have to invest in that area to ensure he is more valuable on that end than he was at Arizona.
The Misconceptions: I think the biggest misconception is that he is strictly an off-ball type scoring wing. I think there definitely is a role as a bench/secondary creator that is waiting to be unlocked — he is very talented at both pick-and-roll passing and “connector” passing, where he seizes openings in the defense for his teammates through quick decision making and accurate passing.
Important Numbers:
25%: His usage rate during his sophomore season
48%/11.4: FG%/FGA during the U19 FIBA World Cup
.521: His 2P% in each of his two seasons, as high as anyone in the lottery not named Chet Holmgren, and much higher than most other perimeter players mocked in the top 10
59%: His TS% over two seasons at Arizona
22.2: His FGA per 100 possessions. He isn’t afraid to put up shots
12: His 3-point attempts per 100 possessions. He isn’t afraid to put up threes!
37%, 26%: His 3P% on guarded and unguarded threes this season. He probably got a little unlucky on the unguarded ones, bringing down his overall 3P% to 37%, when it would normally be closer to 40
.38: His free throw rate over two seasons, a solid number for a perimeter player
17>13: More games scoring 20-plus (17) than games under 10 (13)
Knicks Fit: In my opinion, he is one of the best fits for the Knicks in this draft full of two guards. Adding another elite shooter who also provides more scoring versatility than someone like Quentin Grimes gives New York’s developing primary engines another weapon to help space the floor. He is excellent with pick-and-rolls, which would be great for helping on a bench unit. Immanuel Quickley/Grimes/Mathurin/RJ Barrett and a big is a lineup I have to see. Also, he would definitely bring down the Garden with one of his posterizations.
