Patrick Beverley is one of the most outspoken players in the NBA. Known for his somewhat eccentric and controversial persona, Pat Bev is currently entering his age 36 season. With this in mind, he appeared on Gilbert Arenas’ podcast, Gil’s Arena where he spoke about being a veteran presence in the locker room. While discussing the same, he brought up his role in mentoring players like Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, praising the Candian star and speaking about the impact he had on his development.
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Shai played under Beverley when they shared the court in the 2018-2019 season. A rookie at the time, both Shai and Bev were vying for the role of starting point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers. It may have been for just one season, but Shai left a lasting impression on Beverley. His work ethic and determination confirmed that the now 25-year-old was destined for greatness.
Patrick Beverley describes his role as a “veteran” to Canadian star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the highly-touted young talents in the NBA. The Canadian star, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder has boatloads of potential and is expected to do great things. One player who saw this potential early on was Patrick Beverley. A veteran of the Clippers, Pat Bev worked with Shai during his rookie season.
There, he saw just what Shai was capable of. He describes how, despite being young and inexperienced, the youngster cooked both him and Avery Bradley. Two players who are considered by many to be elite defensive guards. This prompted Beverley to regularly challenge SGA and entice him into taking his starting spot. And, all it took was seven games before Shai was starting against Golden State.
This speaks volumes of the talent that SGA has, but also gives insight into the type of veteran Pat Bev is. As he himself eloquently put it, he is a “different vet”. He believes in pushing those he is mentoring and challenging them to be the best. Something he even tried with Anthony Edwards at Minnesota. Why? Because he believes in making an imprint on these youngster’s lives.
“Shai took my spot in the seventh game of the season. I mean I got it back after we traded for Avery Bradley and we made our push in the Playoffs, but that year when we went against Golden State, he took my spot. But, I’m a different vet. When he get there I’m telling him like, “Hey man! Don’t stop until you take my spot! Let’s go. Iron pushes iron!”. Same thing I tell T-Man. So you can be a vet or you can be one of those motherf**kin vets that got an imprint on these kids’ lives.”
For the most part, Pat Bev’s style of mentorship seems to be working. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards aside, a lot of young stars have benefited from his presence. Players like the Lakers’ Austin Reeves, and the Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu have learned from him. And now that he’s on the Philadelphia 76ers, Tyrese Maxey will have the same opportunity.
Pat Bev revealed that SGA was upset over being traded for Paul George
Following his rookie season, the Los Angeles Clippers decided to trade Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for a bonafide superstar in Paul George. This didn’t sit well with SGA, who, as Patrick Beverley described was very upset with the organization. In fact, Pat Bev claims that Shai boldly stated that the Clips could have kept him and got PG.
While many believe that was his way of saying the two could have teamed up, Pat believes it speaks more to SGA’s confidence in himself. He interprets these comments as Shai suggesting that he would have had the same productivity as a PG13, despite just entering his sophomore year.
Confidence is certainly key in the NBA, and based on those statements, Shai has droves of it. As things stand, he is an All-Star on one of the most high-potential teams in the league, the OKC Thunder. If he continues to grow at the exponential rate that he is, he will be in MVP conversations in no time.
