Lakers Star LeBron James Faces Strong Challenge From Rookie Lottery Pick

Is Bennedict Mathurin messing with the wrong guy? Of course he is. The sixth overall pick in the draft made some unnecessary comments about the king of basketball, so you better grab your popcorn. Oh wait, LeBron James may not even respond to the words the Indiana Pacers rookie said.

“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,” Mathurin said during an interview with the Washington Post. 

Bennedict Mathurin wants to test LeBron James ? (via @washingtonpost):

“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.” pic.twitter.com/cx3ghu9n1R

— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 24, 2022

The young player has just added fuel to the fire. Mathurin seems to forget that LeBron likes when people challenge him. He’s been dominating the NBA for two decades. Fun fact? LeBron shows no signs of aging. He is just doing his team and his game is as sharp as it can get. So, saying that you are better than the GOAT doesn’t make sense, especially if you are a rookie.

Lebron James is simply ageless pic.twitter.com/LMXZJRnU5l

— Vintage NBA (@vintagenba_) March 13, 2022

LeBron James to teach the disrespectful rookie a lesson

In 2021-22, LeBron averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game while doing 35.9% from deep and 52.4% from the field. Let’s see what happens when Mathurin meets these stats. He will definitely learn his lesson.

In 2022, Mathurin averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 36.9% from deep and 45% from the field. These numbers will motivate him to do his best in his first season in the NBA. Mathurin is turning heads and it will be nice to see him go against the four-time NBA champion in the upcoming season.

Here’s a question. Will LeBron react to this? Time will tell.

We're one day away from the 2022 NBA Draft – so wake up to that one time that Benn Mathurin murdered a man in the NCAA Tournament ?pic.twitter.com/RPJgte3i4I

— TorresOnArizona (@TorresOnArizona) June 22, 2022

“Mathurin seems eager for new and bigger tests. His professional goals are as lofty as possible: Win the 2023 rookie of the year award, an MVP, and a championship en route to induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame,” Ben Golliver wrote in his profile of Mathurin on June 24.

The 2022-23 NBA season will be super wild. NBA teams will try to regain power. There was a lot of competition on the floor this past season, but strong teams collapsed without a warning.