Canadian Bennedict Mathurin of the Indiana Pacers has been named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for October/November.
The uber-athletic wing averaged 19.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while hitting 40 per cent of his shots from long range in the two months.
As the first option off the Pacers’ bench, he is second in scoring to only Tyrese Haliburton on his team and has helped guide Indiana to what might be considered a surprising run of success with a solid record of 12-9, good for fourth in the East.
This is the first time a Canadian won the monthly award since Jamal Murray took the honour in November 2016.
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Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder was the recipient of the award in the Western Conference. The rookie wing from Santa Clara has averaged 10.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists so far this season.
The NBA also gave out coach and player of the month awards, Boston Celtics and Phoenix Suns sweeping the awards in their respective conferences.
In the East, the reigning conference champion Boston Celtics haven’t lost a step, leading the charge with a league-best 18-4 record and first-year interim coach Joe Mazzulla was awarded Coach of the Month.
Building a foothold for his MVP campaign, superstar wing Jayson Tatum was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month, averaging 31.6 points (good for second in the league), 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
Suns coach Monty Williams was named after keeping the Suns atop the Western Conference with a record of 15-6 despite the losses of Chris Paul and Cameron Johnson.
Meanwhile, his superstar guard Devin Booker has averaged 29.0 points, 5.8 assists, and a career-high 5.3 rebounds so far this year. He accentuated his campaign for the award with a 51-point performance on Wednesday in a 132-113 victory against the Chicago Bulls.
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