Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley revealed his reaction to Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award last season.
Beverley, who is one of the better defenders at the guard position in the NBA, explained to Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green that he was “pissed the f— off” when a guard won Defensive Player of the Year, since it wasn’t him.
“Part of me was pissed the f— off, Dray,” Beverley said. “I ain’t gonna lie, bro. I’d be a fool not to sit — from a competitor’s standpoint — I’d be a cap sitting on here telling you I wasn’t pissed off when that happened.
“Not from like, I don’t want him to get it — from like, ‘Damn, I’m happy a guard got it, but damn, I’ve been sitting right here. I’ve been sitting right here for years.’ But I respect it. A guard got it.
“So now, I’m like, ‘Okay, what do I have to do now?’”
Beverley then discussed a few things he believes he can do more of going forward to help his case. He mentioned blocking more shots, winning more games and potentially playing every game in the 82-game season to help him win a Defensive Player of the Year award.
Lakers fans have to love how motivated Beverley is on the defensive side of the ball, and he should make the team much better defensively in the 2022-23 campaign.
The Lakers have a loaded guard rotation going into the season, but there is no doubt that Beverley will have a prominent role after the team acquired him in a trade with the Utah Jazz this offseason.
Smart won Defensive Player of the Year honors for Boston in the 2021-22 season, and the team ended up going to the NBA Finals.
The Lakers would love for Beverley to mirror that performance while still giving them some production on offense as well.
Last season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Beverley averaged 9.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc.
It will be interesting to see what Beverley’s role with the team is like once the 2022-23 NBA regular season kicks off later this month.
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