Patrick Beverley is the starting point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers but if you would’ve seen him as a youngster in Chicago, you probably would have never guessed.
According to Bev, he almost took a very different path growing up in Chicago after being suspended from the University of Arkansas basketball team for plagiarism.
“I probably would’ve been the best drug dealer in the world,” the 31-year-old told ESPN. “Mouths need to be fed, you know? Coming from where I come from, I didn’t have the luxury of having a trust fund. Or money from generations. Or the luxury of hoppin’ into the family business, you know?” He added, “It’s either hoop or you sell dope.”
It was only after his cousin’s death that he saw the light.
“I’m going to play basketball and not be in his shoes,” Beverley said. “People talk about like, I don’t know, sacrificial lambs and all that. And of course, I don’t compare him to a lamb, but his sacrifice kind of woke up our family.” He continued, “It forced me to go hustle—the right way.”
“I can’t let myself down. I can’t let my hood down, my area down,” he said. “I can’t let Chicago down. I got to put on for my city.”
The rest is history. He scratched and clawed his way in the NBA, and is now making millions playing for a Championship with the Clippers.
Crazy to think how close he was to taking a different path.
Patrick Beverley says he “would've been the best drug dealer in the world” until his cousin’s death forced him to hustle the right way. Here’s a preview of my interview w/ Patrick+Lisa Beverley for NBA Countdown on ABC w/ @susanansman Story w/ full video: https://t.co/st4RJxIcgI pic.twitter.com/gcPEVbofmE
— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) March 1, 2020
“>March 1, 2020
