Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt recently came under fire for supposedly spending $2,000 on clothes to wear for Game 1 of his team’s second-round series and then returning them shortly after.
Former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley, who was teammates last season with Vanderbilt on the Minnesota Timberwolves, seems a little shocked by it all.
Naw Vando say it ain’t so https://t.co/mfEu9GNiG7
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) May 6, 2023
As Lakers fans will recall, Beverley started the 2022-23 regular season as a member of the Lakers before getting traded to the Orlando Magic in February.
Beverley then left the Magic and proceeded to sign with the Chicago Bulls, helping them to a play-in tournament spot. The outspoken guard wasn’t able to share the floor with Vanderbilt on the Lakers this season, as he was traded one day after Vanderbilt was acquired by the Purple and Gold.
While Beverley is already enjoying his offseason, Vanderbilt and the Lakers remain firmly in the mix for this season’s NBA title.
The Lakers and Golden State Warriors are currently tied at one game apiece, with Game 3 of their series set for Saturday evening.
Through eight playoff games this year, Vanderbilt is averaging 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from beyond the arc.
He’s been a key member of the squad ever since joining back in February, and it seems like he has a bright future in Los Angeles. The former second-round pick has one more year left on his contract after the conclusion of this season.
His willingness to guard anyone and everyone on defense is just one reason why he fits in so well with the Lakers. People around the league haven’t been shy in praising his efforts on that end of the floor.
He’ll have to work on his jump shot a bit moving forward, but the 2022-23 season is the first in which he’s truly started to take 3-pointers, so he’s just beginning to figure out that part of his game.
For now, the University of Kentucky product is likely more focused on helping the Lakers advance to the Western Conference Finals, a round the team has not reached since the 2019-20 season.
