Indiana Pacers: Front Office introduces 2022 NBA draftees

The Indiana Pacers front Office held their annual introductory press conference on Friday after the NBA draft. Bennedict Mathurin, Kendall Brown, and Andrew Nembhard were introduced to the Pacers’ practice facility and the state of Indiana on Friday.

The Indiana Pacers brought in three new players after this year’s NBA draft concluded.

Among many things we learned yesterday, we now officially have each player’s jersey numbers that they will wear for the franchise.

• Bennedict Mathurin: #00
• Andrew Nembhard: #2
• Kendall Brown: #10

It became known after Mathurin was drafted that after his scheduled workout with the team a few weeks back that he decided on his own to return to the Pacers practice facility to get in another workout. Rick Carlisle detailed how that came to be in the press conference and shared that he joined Mathurin one-on-one.

"“He had his workout in the morning, then we had lunch with him and he was going to be staying over that evening and travel out the next day. He asked if the gym was open, and if he could come back at 8:00 PM to work out. I said ‘sure how about I meet you at the gym’, and he said ‘that’d be great”. We got together and had about an hour session working on footwork and stuff like that. It told me a lot about him”."

A big smile ran across Carlisle’s face when talking about Mathurin’s dedication to getting better and that this really showed the Front Office that this was their guy on draft night. Of course, we wouldn’t have known this, but I’m glad the Pacers drafted someone who wants to be in Indiana.

Carlisle also elaborated on each player’s ability to play multiple positions and that versatility was one of their focal points in the draft process. The team certainly has a lot of guards at the moment but we will have to see what happens throughout free agency and the offseason.

"“These three guys represent a great deal of what we want to be. We want to be versatile, Kendall can play three and four, Ben can play two and three, and Andrew can play one and two. They have a love for the game and they all have a dynamic element to their game”."

Mathurin was asked about being a leader and what drives him to be a leader at the NBA level. His confidence shined through his response.

"“I am mostly a simple guy. I like to compete and I like to win, that’s a big part of me. Leading was something I was trying to improve as I went into my second year and I feel that really became a part of me”."

One of the cooler bits of information that came out of the introductory press conference was that fellow Canadian Andrew Nembhard knows Oshae Brissett quite well. He said that he and Oshae have been playing together since 6th-7th grade and that Oshae congratulated him on being drafted by the Indiana Pacers.

Kendall Brown was asked about the emotions of the draft and what it was like to fall later into the draft than he may have anticipated.

"“Every player wants to be (drafted) as high as they can, but I am all about the fit. I felt I would fit really well here so I am going to trust them and I am just grateful for the opportunity to be here”."

The Pacers traded up to get Brown with the 48th pick in the draft and was a player that they thought had top 20 potential in this class. The Front Office is extremely pleased with the outcome of the draft and noted that they didn’t have to use any assets to get the players they wanted.

Soon, we will get to see these new members in action as they get ready for Summer League on July 14th, 2022.