Bennedict Mathurin 2023-24 Exit Interview | Indiana Pacers

Bennedict Mathurin 2023-24 Exit Interview | Indiana Pacers

shoulder in the healing process and what are the next steps for you in that rehab um my shoulder’s healing pretty well you know I’m taking care of my body doing rehab and uh you know working out getting stronger what was it for you mentally going through your first significant NBA injury especially in a playoff setting having to watch that during that time it was hard I think it was you know it was harder than expected obviously um watching the playoffs watching the watching the guy have have uh have fun and just being out there and competing at you know the highest level was was was hard for sure but you know I think I think it has you know positive side of it just seeing the guys out there hoping you know and I feel like it definitely builds fire to me going to next season what I imagine you know the coaching staff Rick and everybody probably try to tell you hey take this in you know try to learn you know from this from what everybody else is doing what you’re watching I mean what did what kind of message did they try to get across to you in terms of what you should be looking for and what playoff basketball is like and what’s important in it what do you feel like you you learn from watching that on the sideline and seeing it up close pretty much just uh I feel like taking everything in you know it’s crazy how you know we went from like 25 wins or you know something like that and going to this season and winning a lot of games going to the Eastern Conference Finals I feel like it is a big change um but it also is a blessing just to just to be able to to witness that early in my career you know seeing how hard it is to get to that level um especially going to next year having everybody knowing who we are having an A on our back you know it’s going to be hard but feel like that’s that’s pretty much the fun part of it hate to go back to the injury but that night and Dallas we did a walk-off interview at halftime and you had been injured just prior to that correct right what kind of pain were you dealing with and what do you remember about that night finishing that game and then thinking this could be serious um that’s a great question to be honest um I didn’t I didn’t I didn’t find out obviously after the game you know I tore my La room but when they happened I knew something was wrong and normally when I have just you know I get hurt or I spray my ankle I just tie my shoe right away and or if I get hit I’m just going to keep playing through it when it happened um you know I told I told y short P I said you know like something’s wrong with my shoulder as soon as I and then I told him and as soon as I told him that his eyes got big because he knew that if I if I report something that it should be serious um but I think I watched too many Kobe videos you know keep playing through being hurt and I obviously that’s who I am so um and I was going crazy that game too you know so I was like there’s no way I w’t finish the game but I mean I was just trying to keep playing you know I didn’t know what it was I wasn’t trying to stop playing and it’s just a bruise so just finish the game people told you after the fact like that you shouldn’t have been able to do what you did given the injury that you had say it again have people commented like surprised that you were able to finish the game and keep playing well despite the injury that you had that you didn’t know you had well I feel like some people know me they know who I am uh obviously I’m going keep playing through it but uh I mean I rewatched the clips and I had one of my I shot a you know like a bomb I received a ball late in the clock and I shot it and I was like whoa you know I don’t feel right right that’s when I had to pull out the left hand you know start doing floaters and layups but yeah the last couple of months when you’ve been back and you weren’t you know focused on besides your rehab you weren’t getting ready for games did it allow you time to get to know some of your teammates on another level than maybe you did before for sure um that’s been the biggest emphasize and I would say the biggest growth you know for me just to express myself a little bit more obviously to my teammates um you know I think they know about me on the court you know I’m super competitive um sometimes overly competitive you know that it creates a narrative of me not being obviously the best teammate uh but you know I mean being hurt has helped me a lot you know I don’t have to obviously prepare for games like I used to before um it g me the opportunity to connect with them a little bit more um and also I mean I’ve I’ve been baking a little bit more so obviously bring bacon Goods to the plane and stuff like that I feel like my teammates were able to see a difference out of me what’s been your favorite thing B it’s a hard question man I’ve been getting a high high uh High reviews you know um the lowest I got was nine and he’s not getting he’s not getting anything anymore but uh I mean cookies is pretty easy for me id say the my most like um bit good was was cinnamon rolls and I did cinnamon rolls and you know I feel like it was pretty much love by the whole by the whole team you worked before the season and talked about you know trying to fit in sometimes more with passing with quick decisions things like that what kind of progress do you feel like you made in those areas when you were healthy this season it’s a great question I think uh you know it wasn’t it wasn’t easy for me you know uh anywhere I played in my entire life you know you know I was the best player I had the ball in my hands and I didn’t really have to adjust around you know my teammates as much as I need to now just to pass the ball you know even more but you know just coming into the league you know 20 years old playing with older people older teammates it’s like obviously not going wish I was i’ come and be the best player but obviously not going to be as you know sweet as I think so um I mean I mean being able to trust my teammates you know that was the biggest thing for me knowing that the ball was going to come back to me and you know my teammates knowing how how you know how hard I work and you know the work I put in so the ball would come back to me eventually you remember a specific moment you had that mentality shift in your head of like okay I’m not yeah best guy need to be better at these certain things for sure um I mean I was on fire in my first 10 games my rookie season you know and then teams started coming at me um you know throwing you know Blitz and traps and stuff like that so I had to expand my game a little bit more knowing expecting the trap to come making certain reads and I pretty much had to see it from there and learn from that experience kind of keep on these lines man what were the what do you feel like were the the most important develops developments you made as a player this year you know in terms you had to do a lot of things different in in terms of offense in terms of Defense where do you look back at in terms of what you accomplished and and say these were the most important steps that you made this year pretty much just playing along the team you know um just just buying in you know and doing what’s right for the team um that was the main thing for me this season just to be able to play through the system having fun with my teammates and just competing at the highest level feel I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job obviously better than my rookie season you know I felt like my points dropped but my efficiency was a little bit better so it’s all about adjusting how do you think you became a better Defender and how how much do you see room for growth there I mean how much better you think you’ve gotten and where do you think you need to get better I mean I obviously need to do improvements yeah I have to improve on you know the this side of the floor and you know I think that was the hardest thing for me like I said I was always the best player so I didn’t really have to play defense like that and but seeing that and obviously I’m I’m a little bit on Twitter you know I see I see a lot of stuff and I have all the screenshots you know like like you said no you remember what you said I have I have the screenshot don’t worry about it don’t worry about it okay and but but but having those kind of things is is great for me as my competitive Spirit it allows me to be great I don’t I don’t take criticism I love I enjoy watching it I I watch it before going to bed you know so it’s like watching this stuff is helping me just become a better player I know next year you know Rick Rick keeps talking about you know the challenge of earning my spot to be a starter you know obviously it’s not going to come easy but I’m a competitive so I’m I’m a competitor so I’m GNA have to obviously you’re on my spot and you know I work I’ll work everybody you know that’s how I got here so I’m just excited for what’s coming Rick talked about you know with you and your work this summer you saw like what wins and what helps this team win this year how did how did you feel like you saw what leads to wins for you as your game kind of evolved I mean it’s easier to see it from a different perspective see it from the bench you know you get to see things that you don’t see when you play that was the hardest part for me just to I couldn’t really tell how things were going if I was playing but now seeing the game how the game works been out for like two and a half months um and I was blessed we made it this far to be honest just to see how it is and see how you know CO’s been there for a minute he’s been there multiple times and he’s won a championship so that definitely helps you know to have someone who knows what he’s talking about and believing in it

Bennedict Mathurin speaks to the media following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.