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“LeBron James, You Ain’t Even Playing”: Patrick Beverley Ridicules the Current Lakers For a ‘Frustrating’ Time in LA

Adit Pujari
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Former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley called his time with the Lakers frustrating, blamed LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Darvin Ham.

The Lakers unceremoniously let go of Patrick Beverley at the transfer window. Beverley, who is known for his pesky defense, brought his signature flare to the franchise. In all fairness, he had his fair share of memorable moments. Sadly, most of those moments involved losing. His camera antics after losing the Celtics in a dramatic fashion even went viral for Beverley’s audacity. That was perhaps the best example of Beverley’s time in LA.

However, it seems the 6ft 1″ guard feels otherwise. His exit from the Lakers was proof that the team considered him an expendable asset. So, it is no surprise Beverley is lashing out at the team. In the recent episode of the Pat Bev Podcast, the 3-time All-Defensive player claimed the Lakers frustrated him to no end.

Patrick Beverley lashes out at LeBron James and the Lakers’ entourage

In the podcast, Beverley sounded dissatisfied with his time with the gold and purples. The defensive guard talked about why his time in LA wasn’t as great as some would believe. Now with the Bulls Pat Bev was also critical of the way things were run in the Hollywood franchise. He namedropped LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook as players who were paid more attention than him. Per Beverley, Darvin Ham, whom he called a ‘first-year coach,’ was also someone being paid more heed than him.

Patrick Beverley: “Yeah we should do this on defense. ‘Nah, we cool, we cool. Nah, we gotta rotate.’ Bron what you mean we gotta rotate, you ain’t even playing. They don’t listen to me. You gotta go through the first year coach, the LeBron, the AD, the Russ, then it get to me. You don’t hear my s**t the way you should hear my s**t.”

This is undeniably blame-shifting. Patrick Beverley is blaming the Lakers for his own shortcomings. Teams need well-balanced defense and offense, and the Lakers had none when Pat was on the team. They also lacked important shot-makers and good rim protectors. However, the current

Beverley wasn’t a good fit for the Lakers

We understand that Patrick Beverley feels he deserved the attention. As a 3-time All-Defensive player, he definitely knows defense. But the issue with Pat’s thinking lies in his one-dimensional thinking. Pat Beverley may be a good defensive ‘role player’ but at the end of the day, he lacks offensive awareness.

Even defensively, Patrick has rarely fared well against star guards like Stephen Curry. Against bigger point guards, Beverely is an even worse match. So, naturally, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and ‘Head Coach’ Darvin Ham’s ideas and suggestions were given priority over Beverley’s.

About the author

Adit Pujari

Adit Pujari

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Adit Pujari is an NBA Journalist and Strategist at The SportsRush. He formerly worked as a debate and writing trainer. An avid fan of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers, Adit began following the league in 2007. With the Lakers and Boston Celtics rivalry ripe, he found himself hooked to the sport immediately. After 15 years of religiously following the league, he decided to use his knowledge base as a sports writer in 2021. Since then, he has worked as an NBA writer, led a team of MLB writers, and has now joined The SportsRush. In his spare time, Adit loves playing pickup games and exploring hidden Himalayan trails.

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