Patrick Beverley’s story is an incredible one and if he was a more likable character, then people would be talking about it a lot more. Drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009, Beverley wouldn’t suit up for them then, as he was shipped to the Miami Heat a day after the draft. The Heat then proceeded to cut him and Beverley had to resort to playing in Europe, as there were no avenues open for him in the NBA.
Beverley started to make a name for himself in Europe as time went by and in 2013, he finally got a chance to show what he is capable of when the Rockets snapped him up. There he established himself as one of the better defensive guards around and he remains one to this day.
Patrick Beverley Reveals His Favorite Kobe Bryant Moment
As fate would have it, Beverley now finds himself on the Lakers after they traded for him this offseason. Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal compared Bev to Gary Payton as he stated that LA will love him and he is one of those guys who you tend to like only when he’s on your team. The Lakers put out a video recently of Beverley answering some questions about himself and he was asked about his favorite Kobe moment.
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“I think we played the Lakers in Houston and ex-teammate of mine — championship winner here, Trevor Ariza — I don’t know if it was a call or the next day I was like ‘Hey, TA, what does Kobe think about me?’ Like, you know what I’m saying? He was like, ‘Oh man, he likes you a lot. He thinks you’re a dog.’ Not hearing Kobe say that but hearing another person say that through Kobe was my ‘Okay, I finally made it. I’m excited’ moment. I know it’s not a great story, but that’s my Kobe story.”
Bryant was a student of the game, so it wouldn’t be too surprising that he took note of Beverley, who was still somewhat of a lesser-known commodity during his time with the Rockets. As Beverley stated, that compliment meant a lot to him as it signified he had made it big after all his struggles in his early years.
He will now look to help the Lakers get back on track after their disastrous 2021-22 season in which they didn’t even make it to the play-in tournament. Beverley’s teams have only failed to make the playoffs once, which was the 2017-18 season when he played only 11 games and he’ll be hoping to bring over the magic formula here.
