Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin’s Shaq Impression Was the Highlight of NBA All-Star Weekend

The Indiana guard was spot-on.
Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin’s Shaq Impression Was the Highlight of NBA All-Star Weekend
Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin’s Shaq Impression Was the Highlight of NBA All-Star Weekend /
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Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin didn’t hold back in his hilarious impression of TNT analyst Shaquille O’Neal during NBA All-Star weekend in Indianapolis.

Mathurin, who won the Rising Stars MVP award on Friday night, was asked by reporters to give his best Shaq impression, and the former Wildcat showcased a natural hidden talent for impersonating one of the biggest names in NBA media.

The 21-year-old guard did one more just for good measure:

On Friday, Mathurin led Team Jalen to a 26—13 victory over Team Detlef to win the Rising Stars Challenge; he recorded just four points in the final, but put up 18 points including a game-winning jumper, in the semifinal. Later that weekend, Mathurin joined Pacers teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner as a competing trio to win the NBA Skills Challenge in their hometown.

Mathurin is averaging 14.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in his sophomore campaign in Indiana. This year marked Mathurin’s second consecutive year participating in NBA All-Star weekend, having also won last season’s Rising Stars Challenge in Salt Lake City.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.