The NBA is suspended right now, but that doesn’t mean its players are resting. Los Angeles Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley surely isn’t, even less when it comes to trash-talking. The veteran guard is one of the participants in the NBA 2K tournament that began on Friday night, and you could say he had a lot of fun.
Bev was taking on Portland Trail Blazers’ big man Hassan Whiteside, but he made sure to send a message to LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Clips biggest rivals for the West this season. Pat had a very good night, dominating Whiteside, easily winning the game while sending a message to Bron and his teammates.
At some point in the game, Hassan failed to complete an alley-oop using LeBron, committing the turnover and leaving the door open for Beverley to trash talk the King:
Even with no NBA games, Pat Bev still found a way to trash talk LeBron 😅#NBA2KTourney pic.twitter.com/gThGJXq8pK
— ESPN (@espn) April 4, 2020
“Video game James, he’s got some years on him now. He can’t just be jumping all over the rim now,” Beverley said.
The Clippers and Lakers were the two biggest candidates to win it all this season in the association after the entertaining offseasons they had last year. Given their positions in the standings and how good they were playing before the league suspended the season, everybody expected the battle of Los Angeles to take place in the West Conference Finals.
The Lakers ranked first in the West with a 49-14 record, while the Clippers were their closest pursuers, boasting a 44-20 record.
Every player in each team knew that and they took their duels very personal, including Beverley, who never missed a chance to downplay LeBron and his team. Last month, after their last duel, the 31-year-old even said there was no challenge in guarding LeBron.
Pat Bev on guarding LeBron 👀🍿
(via @HarrisonSanford)pic.twitter.com/SiTzH5CKHW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 8, 2020
It looks like he won’t stop taking shots at his neighbors, even if the season is finally canceled, Bev is a man on a mission. In the end, he defeated Whiteside, 85-54, and now waits for a rival.
