The beef between Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook is well-documented. The two guards haven’t been the biggest fans of one another for a long time, and that is still the case today.
Recently, we’ve seen tensions flare up during the game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Notably, Patrick Beverley and Karl-Anthony Towns mocked Russell Westbrook after he missed an open corner 3PT shot. On top of that, the game between the two franchises marked the first time that Patrick Beverley had outscored Russell Westbrook in their head-to-head matchups, with Beverley finishing with 18 points to Westbrook’s 15 points.
While they may not have the best relationship currently, a past Tweet from Patrick Beverley suggests that he respected Russell Westbrook’s ability. In 2013, Patrick Beverley was asked about which player was the hardest for him to guard, to which he responded with “Russell Westbrook”.
“@kamm_newton: @patbev21 who's the toughest person you ever had to defend?” Russell Westbrook
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) June 23, 2013
During the 2012-13 season, Russell Westbrook averaged 23.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 7.4 APG. He was one of the best point guards in the league, and there’s no question that his nuclear athleticism allowed him to dominate on the interior and blow by most defenders. He may not be that good of a scorer currently, but there’s no doubt that Russell Westbrook was once phenomenal at putting the ball in the basket.
It is easy to see why Patrick Beverley would dislike Russell Westbrook. Westbrook once claimed that Patrick Beverley doesn’t actually play defense and “tricks” people. It is clear that this was a jab from Westbrook towards Beverley’s abilities. However, it is clear that back in 2013, Patrick Beverley knew that Russell Westbrook was someone that would be a problem to guard.
Hopefully, we see the beef subside between Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook subside in the future. However, when we take into account the history between the two, that seems unlikely to happen soon.
