Exclusive: Patrick Beverley Opens Up About Time With Clippers
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When Patrick Beverley arrived to the LA Clippers as part of the Chris Paul trade in 2017, many believed it was the beginning of a long rebuild in Los Angeles. With Paul seeking a departure from the Clippers, the team facilitated a sign-and-trade that got Paul to his desired destination in Houston, while also netting the Clippers a package they would have not received if Paul simply walked in free agency.
When Beverley first arrived to LA, he played in just 11 games with the Clippers before suffering a season-ending injury. While he was not on the court for most of that season, Beverley was right at the center of what felt like a turning point for the organization on January 15th, 2018.
In Chris Paul's first game back in Los Angeles since facilitating his departure, the Clippers defeated the Rockets in what is infamously knows as "The Locker Room Game." Following that eventful night, Beverley put out this Tweet:
Speaking exclusively with AllClippers following Monday night's game between the Chicago Bulls and LA Clippers, Beverley was asked about that game and that Tweet, saying with a smile and a head nod, "Yeah, yeah."
While Beverley remembered that moment well, he pointed to something else as the official turning point for that group, and it was a team meeting led by himself and Lou Williams once Blake Griffin was traded.
"Me and Lou, we on the plane and we're trying to figure out the direction of the team," Beverley said. "We just wanted to let the dominoes fall where they fall. We got the 8th seed [the next season], we played the Golden State Warriors, took them six games. I think that's where the foundation was built."
The team meeting on the plane that Beverley referenced is something Lou Williams also spoke about on a podcast least year, saying, "Once we traded Blake, everybody was down, we weren't sure how it was gonna go. I sat everybody down and said, 'Look, man. They traded Blake. We love Blake. So we don't have to feel responsible for that. Only thing we can do is play as hard as we can, and give ourselves an opportunity to win, and live with the results.'"
With Beverley injured, that season ended with the Clippers narrowly missing the playoffs, but the next year is what changed everything. As Beverley noted, a Clippers team starting two rookies got the 8th seed, pushed Kevin Durant and Steph Curry to six games, and built a foundation that ultimately became somewhere Kawhi Leonard wanted to play.
"We were fortunate to get Kawhi," Beverley said. "We think we would've won a championship if it wasn't for the bubble. But to come back and get to a Conference Finals with a hurt Kawhi - We've done a lot of good things here."
On his role in what the Clippers have been building, and most notably their first Western Conference Finals appearance in 2021, Beverley said, "My impact is always about changing the culture and changing the organization. I was fortunate to do that here with the Clippers. We went to the Western Conference Finals and won a ton of games."
Referring to Lob City as "the Blake Griffin era," Beverley again said it was himself and Lou Williams that refused to allow the Clippers to tank after Lob City was entirely dismantled. Taking a level of responsibility to give the Clippers fanbase something to be proud of, Beverley spoke highly of Clippers fans when reflecting on his time in LA.
Recently saying on his podcast that Chicago Bulls fans don't attack him after bad games the way Lakers fans did, Beverley was asked last night about his connection to the Clippers fanbase, having experienced both sides of the basketball scene in Los Angeles.
"The [Clippers] fanbase is elite," Beverley said. "It's nothing but good memories and good times."
