Patrick Beverley spent 11 years in the NBA and became one of the premier antagonists in the league during his prime. He spent many of those years on the Clippers, teaming up alongside Kawhi Leonard from 2019 to 2021. Beverley recently appeared on Udonis Haslem’s podcast and called Leonard the hardest-working player he’s ever played with, including LeBron James.
“Kawhi! Hardest working motherf***er I’ve seen in my life! In the weight room, it’s LeBron. On the court, it’s Kawhi. Together, weight room and court, Kawhi! I ain’t seen nobody like him. That’s why he be hurt. People don’t understand, that’s why he gets hurt.”
Beverley even shared a story of the pair working out during COVID, with Leonard’s workout drills intimidating even an NBA player like Beverley.
“We work out, it’s COVID… We drive up to San Diego, and we in that motherf***ing lab for three hours. I’m talking like 11 spots, like damn, I never even shot 11 spots. ‘Make 20 11 spots middy, make 20 11 spots treys, make 20 11 spots pump-fake, make 20 11 spots pump-fake trey. Make 20 11 spots? I am usually five, maybe seven, even nine, but 11?”
Patrick Beverley reveals that Kawhi Leonard is the hardest working player he’s played with:
“Kawhi! Hardest working mother f*cker I've seen in my life! In the weight room, it's Lebron. On the court, it's Kawhi. Together, weight room and court, Kawhi! I ain't seen nobody like… pic.twitter.com/hliSUK8fgn
— APHoops (@APH00PS) August 6, 2024
Beverley saying Kawhi’s workout schedule is why he gets hurt so often is an interesting admission. If that was the only reason, he likely wouldn’t be working out as hard to protect his NBA future. Hustle guys will always hustle, but Leonard is also a superstar and it’s foolish of him to be practicing so hard that he can barely stay healthy.
He averaged 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists last season, being named to an All-NBA team and proving he’s still an elite option in the NBA. But he hasn’t been healthy when it matters most, playing just two out of six Playoff games for the Clippers, with the team losing both games that he did play in.
Leonard was recently criticized for ‘inventing’ new ways to get hurt by Stephen A. Smith, also losing his spot on Team USA for alleged injury concerns. While the Clippers organization has vehemently denied Leonard being injured right now, it’s concerning to see so much constant chatter about where Leonard’s health is at.
His knees have been through the ringer with mysterious injuries like the one we saw scupper his season in March or the major tears like the ACL injury Leonard suffered in the 2021 Playoffs. He won’t ever be healthy for 82 games and a regular season again, but the Clippers and Leonard need to find a middle-ground for what they can achieve together.
Now that Paul George has left the franchise, it seems like Leonard will have to shoulder even more of the load to keep the franchise competitive in their debut season at the Intuit Dome. But if he’s once again limping his way into games, serious conversations about his future will need to be had.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
