Patrick Beverley Comically Explained Why He Will Always Want to Take Down Lakers’ Austin Reaves
Once teammates with the Lakers, Patrick Beverley and Austin Reaves now have beef. And according to Beverley, it all stems from a celebration Reaves did while playing against him late last season after Beverley had signed with the Bulls.
Things boiled over during Monday’s matchup between the Sixers (where Beverley now plays) and Reaves’ Lakers, a 44-point drubbing by Philadelphia. Beverley requested the defensive assignment on Reaves after Reaves hit him with the “Too Small” celebration last year, a move Beverley explained that he found disrespectful. That led to a not-so-incidental shoulder bump between the two players during Monday’s game, and Beverley said on his podcast that the beef isn’t fading anytime soon.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Patrick Beverley and forward Robert Covington defend against Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves during the third quarter at Wells Fargo Center.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
“How dare you come in Chicago, in my hood, and hit me with the ‘Too Little’, and don’t think I’m [going to] come for your neck?” Beverley said. “It’s cool, he’s going to feel [my] wrath.
“Every time I see the Lakers until I retire, whatever team Austin Reaves is on, I’m on his ass.”
The most amusing part of this budding rivalry between the two guards is that Beverley actually got into a fight on Reaves’ behalf last season when the two were teammates. Beverley shoved Deandre Ayton in a matchup with the Suns to protect Reaves, earning the veteran guard a three-game suspension without pay.
“That’s what made me angry about [the celebration],” Beverley said. “I literally did time for him.”
The petty beef is a classic Beverley move and part of how he has carved out a role in the league.
