Patrick Beverley was once at odds with Russell Westbrook, but he has now turned into one of the Sacramento Kings guard’s biggest supporters. Beverley has showered praise on Westbrook in recent years and made a bold statement regarding his former teammate on the latest episode of the Pat Bev Show.
“To me, he’s the second-greatest point guard to ever play,” Beverley said. “You got to put Steph [Curry] in front of him obviously, because of his shooting ability and his championships run. And that’s the only reason, Russ. That’s the only reason, right? Because of chips. So, that’s the only reason. You talking about a top three point guard, not three, right? You got to give him his flowers.”
It’s not often that you see Westbrook ranked that high. The 37-year-old does have an impressive resume, though.
Westbrook has won one MVP, two scoring titles, and three assists titles. To go with that, he has made nine All-Star and nine All-NBA teams.
Westbrook also climbed up to fifth on the all-time assists list on March 17 and has the most points and rebounds for a point guard in NBA history. He is the league’s all-time leader for triple-doubles and is one of three players to average a triple-double for a season as well. Westbrook is a statistical marvel, but that alone isn’t enough to be ranked as high as Beverley is putting him.
You need to win multiple championships for that, and Westbrook has failed to win even one in his career. The closest he ever got was when the Oklahoma City Thunder reached the 2012 NBA Finals, where they lost in five games to the Miami Heat.
Westbrook also made it to the Western Conference Finals in 2011, 2014, and 2016 with the Thunder, but has had next to no postseason success since. All of this severely hurts his case when it comes to these all-time rankings. The likes of Stephen Curry, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and Oscar Robertson will always be widely regarded as greater point guards than Westbrook.
Beverley had Curry at the very top, and he does have a case for that title of greatest point guard of all time. The Golden State Warriors superstar has won four NBA titles, one Finals MVP, two MVPs, and two scoring titles. Curry has a stellar resume and is the greatest shooter ever, but he still isn’t the most popular pick for that GOAT point guard title.
That would be Johnson, who won five NBA titles, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, and four assists titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the greatest playmaker this game has ever seen.
Curry probably needs to win another title to shift opinions. It doesn’t look very likely that he’ll win another with the Warriors, though. They’re going to have to make a big move in the summer to become serious title contenders again.
While Curry is at least going to walk away from the game with multiple championships, Westbrook is likely going down as one of the greatest players to have never won a ring. The lowly Kings were the only team interested in his services this past summer as he remained unsigned through training camp, and there is a chance this is his last season in the NBA.
Westbrook has shown, though, that he can still produce at a respectable level. He is averaging 15.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game for the Kings in 2025-26. You’d hope this isn’t the last we see of Westbrook, and Beverley thinks his stint with the Lakers has painted the wrong picture about him.
“It’s just awful that he played for the Lakers, his hometown team, and the love wasn’t there,” Beverley said. “The love wasn’t there, and I think that kind of painted the wrong picture about Russ, but like anyone who knows Russ, they know, his ability to compete all the time is bar none. You’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I hope we don’t see him in the same situation where he has to wait and sign for a team,” Beverley stated. “I think that’s totally unfair. I think Russ is the perfect vet for any young team that’s trying to make something happen.”
Time will tell if NBA teams agree with Beverley.
