Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley stated that Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook “damaged” his career during a recent appearance on J.J. Redick’s podcast.
Westbrook once stated that Beverley tricked people into thinking that he was actually a good defender.
Russell Westbrook: “Pat Bev trick y’all, man, like he playing defense. He don’t guard nobody, man. He just running around, doing nothing.” Made sure to note that James Harden scored 47 tonight.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) November 14, 2019
Beverley called Westbrook a “magician” this season because of the Lakers guard’s struggles, and he addressed the entire situation on the podcast.
I remember when somebody said all I do is run around and I trick y’all 😂 well my boy is The Real Magician this year.
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) February 10, 2022
“I call that perfect timing, divine timing,” Beverley said of his comment. “You know people looked at me differently? People around the NBA, coaches, players, like after that people were just taking the ball just going at me.
“I’m like, ‘What the f—?’ All because of what one person said, and that’s how the media is. If one person says one thing, that’s how they take it. And they take it just for that. People really looked at it like, ‘Yeah, maybe this motherf—er don’t play defense. The only thing he does is run around.’
“So, obviously, I had one bad game. ‘Oh Russ was right. I knew this motherf—–; the only thing he did is run around and stuff like that.’ You know, it’s no fun when the rabbit gots the gun now.”
Beverley took Westbrook’s comments to heart, but the veteran guard has rebuilt himself as a member of the Timberwolves this season. He has started 42 of the 46 games that he’s played in for the Wolves and has become an integral part to their success this season.
Minnesota is currently the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference with a 38-29 record and is ahead of Westbrook and the Lakers in the standings.
“He damaged my career,” Beverley said of Westbrook. “Coaching staffs and players, fans, they looked at me way different. They looked at me like, ‘You know what, he don’t play defense. He just yells and run around,’ and held onto that, and some people still do.”
This season, Beverley is averaging 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 39.8 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from beyond the arc. He is also averaging 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game during the current campaign.
Westbrook and Beverley are clearly rivals, and the Wolves guard seems to be relishing in the fact that the tables have turned on his opponent.
There’s a chance the Lakers and Timberwolves could get matched up in the league’s play-in tournament this season, which would make for quite an interesting battle between the two players.
