Longtime Bill Simmons fans have come to love \u2014 or perhaps even become slightly annoyed with \u2014 his oddly specific analysis.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just enough for an NBA star to be one of the best players of all-time; he has to be a top-17 player in history. Nor is he capable of merely predicting that a player will have a good all-around game; he has to also project that said player will score 23 points, grab 13 rebounds and record eight assists.<\/p>\n
Following Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals last week, Simmons saw enough from Indiana Pacers shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin that he was willing to make one of his patented predictions. Noting the ease at which the former Arizona star navigated the Oklahoma City Thunder\u2019s vaunted defense, The Ringer founder projected that the 22-year-old would eventually have a big game on basketball\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
And as he is wont to do, he didn\u2019t stop there, as he also specified the exact type of performance he had in mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis stats weren\u2019t good and this is just an eye test and isn\u2019t backed up by any actual information. I thought Mathurin seemed athletically comfortable in this game and I\u2019m intrigued by what his upside is for them,\u201d Simmons told Zach Lowe on The Bill Simmons Podcast<\/a>. \u201cBecause OKC is so fast and so athletic and they\u2019re just at warp speed. And I just thought he looked comfortable in the chaos in a way that I\u2019m wondering are we gonna hear from him in this series with one of those game? You know, when Mathurin will have those games where it\u2019s like, \u2018he scored 27 points in 22 minutes.\u2019 I feel like he\u2019s gonna have one of those.\u201d<\/p>\n Simmons\u2019 prediction came and went without anyone calling much attention to it. But following Game 3, many on social media brought it back up. Why? Because Mathurin scored exactly 27 points in 22 minutes in the Pacers\u2019 116-107 Game 3 victory on Thursday night, which gave Indiana a 2-1 series lead.<\/p>\n Bill Simmons predicts Mathurin will have a Finals game where he scores 27 points in 22 minutes<\/p>\n Mathurin last night: 27 points in 22 minutes<\/p>\n Clairvoyant Bill strikes again! pic.twitter.com\/SmWgP2wNxB<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The r\/BillSimmons Podcast (@rBillSimmonsPod) June 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n After attending Game 3 in-person, Simmons \u2014 who often refers to himself as \u201cClairvoyant Bill\u201d \u2014 recorded another episode of Th Bill Simmons Podcast<\/a> with Lowe. And while the Sports Guy was aware that prediction had proved accurate, even he didn\u2019t seem to realize that he had hit it exactly on the head.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I said I could see him having 27 in 20 minutes,\u201d Simmons inaccurately recalled. \u201cHow many minutes did he play? Probably more than 20.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty-two minutes,\u201d Lowe noted. \u201cAnd he had 27 points exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n