Former Lakers Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley Want Rings If LA Wins It All This Season
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Former Los Angeles Lakers Patrick Beverley and Russell Westbrook, longtime foes turned teammates and now, improbably, friends, recently ran into each other during a workout. Per Beverley, it seems they've been paying attention to the ongoing playoff success of the team on which they kicked off the 2022-23 regular season.
LA is currently leading the Golden State Warriors 1-0 following a 117-112 road win on Tuesday. The Lakers are hoping to improve their good fortune in the second round matchup tonight.
On Beverley's show The Pat Bev Podcast With Rome, Beverley shared a fascinating anecdote with cohost Adam Ferrone about a recent gym encounter with fellow ex-Laker Westbrook.
"So I'm working out today, right?" Beverley told Ferrone. "I'm in there, I'm grinding. Today's back day. Obviously I'm feeling under the weather, I'm feeling like s---. I haven't eaten one thing all day. So I want you to understand what I'm trying to tell you. I'm working out my back, arms. Hitting it. Russell Westbrook walks in.
"I told Russy, 'Yeah I beat you to the gym today... You're the reason why I'm in here, you posted me up first play you got an and-one. Didn't forget,'" Beverley continued.
Presumably this was in reference to the late-season game in which Beverley's Chicago Bulls fell to Westbrook's star-studded Los Angeles Clippers, 124-112, on March 27.
"Russy goes, 'Hey Pat, Lakers win, I want my ring. I ain't going to lie bro, we're going to be suited and booted, I'm going to be right there waiting on my ring.'"
"If they win, you call me whatever the f--- you want to call me Rone, I'm [going to] get that ring."
"Call you champ," Ferrone said simply.
Typically, any player who logged at least some time with a championship-winning club during the course of their title season is offered a championship ring.
Beverley's Bulls finished as the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference, winning one play-in contest against the Toronto Raptors before falling to the Miami Heat in the second, thus missing the playoffs entirely. Following injuries to star forwards Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, Westbrook's Clippers fell in five games to the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
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