Lakers News: Patrick Beverley's Favorite LeBron James "Highlight" Says A Lot About Patrick Beverley
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Following a one-week delay, Media Day for your Los Angeles Lakers is finally upon us! The team may have been hoping to have offloaded a certain $47.1 million point guard during the interim, but for now, Russell Westbrook remains a Laker, and surprisingly seems open to being a reserve this season.
One veteran point guard on an expiring deal who appears destined to stick on L.A.'s roster, however (at least through the entirety of the 2022-23 season), is 34-year-old 3-and-D specialist Patrick Beverley.
As All-NBA Lakers small forward LeBron James spoke with Chris Haynes of Turner Sports and Yahoo Sports for a fresh Media Day conversation, Haynes informed the 18-time All-Star of his new teammate's favorite LBJ moment.
Haynes notes that, when asked for his favorite LeBron James highlight, Patrick Beverley's answer was... somewhat unexpected. "This fool, [he says], 'The block I had on LeBron,'" Haynes relayed.
Both men erupted into laughter. James half-jokingly pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.
"What's wrong with Pat, man?" James chuckled. "He got issues. Them Chi-Town boys got issues, and I got three of them. I got him, I got K-Nunn and A.D., man."
Anthony Davis, Kendrick Nunn and Beverley are all native Chicagoans, though only the 29-year-old Davis and the 27-year-old Nunn would have overlapped on the court much around the city (Beverley is five years A.D.'s senior).
To which block might Beverley be referring? Perhaps it was this moment, during a critical Christmas Day "Battle of L.A." bout between the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, where a crucial late-game block from Beverley helped stave off a Lakers victory during the 2019-20 season:
The Lakers would go on to have the last laugh that season, winning the NBA title on the Orlando "bubble" campus against the Miami Heat.
Really, this is a pretty illuminating quote from Beverley, a three-time All-Defensive Team selection while with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Beverley, a.k.a. "Mr. 94 Feet," is much ballyhooed for his excellent perimeter defense, so it makes sense that he would recall a big moment on that end of the court for himself. Choosing that as a "highlight" of his new teammate's is a fun, competitive choice that only a basketball maniac would do.
Welcome to the Lakers, Pat Bev.
