Patrick Beverley may soon be moving to Los Angeles Lakers and will be forced to play nice with Russell Westbrook, who was once a nemesis. ESPN reported that Beverly is being traded from Utah Jazz in exchange for Talen Horton-Tucker and Stanley Johnson.
Patrick Beverly shares a decade-old rivalry with Russel Westbrook, who plays for the Lakers. Here is a brief history of their conflict:
April 2013: Westbrook and Beverly had an on-court collision mid-game during the playoffs. The two were reaching for a loose ball. Westbrook suffered a season-ending knee injury.
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March 2014: Westbrook and Beverly faced each other in the early stages of the 2014 season. Westbrook wanted a timeout and was gesturing for one. Meanwhile, Westbrook was flanked by Beverly, who then slapped the ball out of his rival’s hands. Beverly was given a technical.
October 2018: Years went by with minor on-court altercations. However, the one in 2018 was major. Westbrook celebrated a point on Beverly with his “rock-the-baby” move. This triggered a heated argument on the court.
November 2019: The rivalry between Westbrook and Beverly took a new turn. Russel Westbrook said, “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he plays defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. It’s just running around, doing nothing.”
Beverly responded, “He damaged my career. Like, coaching staffs and players, fans, they looked at me way different.”
2019-2022: Westbrook and Beverly’s beef was now visible on their social media handles. The two often trash-talked before each other’s games and pointed out mistakes.
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“I remember when somebody said all I do is run around and I trick y’all. Well, my boy is The Real Magician this year”, Beverly wrote in a tweet after Westbrook’s tough season with the Lakers.
After years of on and off-court drama, Beverly and Westbrook will be on the same team.