Patrick Beverley isn’t holding back on Trae Young. On the latest episode of his podcast, the veteran guard clapped back at the Hawks star by dismissing his accolades and saying criticism is more than fair until he proves himself with meaningful accomplishments.
“We criticize LeBron James, we criticize all these people, who the f**k said you can’t be criticized? You haven’t done anything,” said Beverley. “So, you haven’t done anything, so until you’ve done something, yes, you should be criticized. You should appreciate it because the criticism isn’t coming from someone who hasn’t played. It’s coming from someone who has shared the floor with you and left a mark in the NBA. Miss me with that. You are the fastest player to 12K points, and fastest to 4K assists. And you get scored on the most in the NBA. Empty stats.”
Of course, this is just the latest chapter in an ongoing saga between Beverley and Young, who recently went viral for exposing Bev’s history of failure and mediocrity. It all stemmed from contempt for how Beverley presented himself in the media and how he routinely challenged Young’s legacy and leadership on the Hawks.
In Young’s mind, Beverley is a hypocrite who holds others to standards he never met during his NBA career. While he’s made regular playoff appearances, he’s never made the NBA Finals, and he’s also never made a playoff team. Ultimately, with career averages of 8.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, Beverley’s legacy will be remembered as more of a role-player than a star.
Then again, much of the same could be said for Trae Young. With just one Conference Finals appearance, he’s headed down a similar path if the Hawks don’t shape up and start trending in a positive direction. The difference with Trae is that his stats are at an All-Star level with averages of 25.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game on 43.3% shooting. At 26 years old, he’s already surpassed Beverley in several ways, and you can’t blame him for trying to put the NBA veteran in his place.
This exchange with Trae is one of his loudest arguments, but it’s not the first time that Beverley has sparked some heat from his fellow players. In fact, this beef with Young sparked a reaction from Kevin Durant, who was one of the first to call him out.
It remains to be seen what kind of reaction this latest slate gets, but Beverley isn’t one to back down from his words. Only Trae Young has the power to prove him wrong now, by dispelling the “empty stats” claim and making another deep playoff run in Atlanta. Hopefully, he can use Beverley’s latest take as fuel to help spark a career year on the basketball court.
When all is said and done, Beverley’s words carry weight only if Trae Young fails to change the narrative. The Hawks guard has the talent and numbers, but until he turns that production into wins, critics like Beverley will keep calling it empty. The ball is in Trae’s court now to prove them wrong.
