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Patrick Beverley: "It's nothing I've ever experienced in basketball in my life. That Heat culture is absolutely real. Anyone who's been there, the practice facility, the locker room is downstairs, you got to go upstairs to get to the practice facility. Before you open the door to get to the practice facility, you have to have on knee pads and your jersey has to be tucked in every single time. I don't care who you is. Discipline off the rip. Before LeBron James got to the Heat, they didn't have a motherfucker with no headband. Think about it."
Former NBA guard Patrick Beverley has opened up about the difficult start to his professional career in Ukraine, explaining how the experience shaped the mentality he carried throughout his basketball journey. "I get a call to play in Ukraine – second division, Ukraine," Beverley said on the Out The Mud Podcast. "I hopped on that plane so fast. I was out of there." Beverley left Arkansas in 2008 and began his professional career with BC Dnipro in Ukraine. He played 46 games during the 2008-09 season, averaging 16.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.2 steals, and 1.3 blocks. "When you hear this backstory and see the reason why I play the way I play, it makes sense," Beverley noted. "It makes sense that I celebrate all the small wins. I appreciate every small win."
"I went to Ukraine and just imagine – second division Ukraine. Not even first division," Beverley said. "No planes, no buses. We took trains everywhere," Beverley added. "I'm talking about 21-hour train rides. I'm going to places I had never seen before. "I'm probably making 6,000 a month. I don't care. I'm just hooping. I'm eating borscht [soup]. I'm for real."
Patrick Beverley: "I don't think it's fair that you can quit the game of basketball and come back. You can quit when not having a ton of success. You can quit because the game is hard and it's stressful when you're not playing well and the fans are on you and the media is on you, you can quit and have an opportunity to come back. When we've been looking at Victor Oladipo, who's been competing, who's been degrading himself, went to the G League, we witnessed Victor Oladipo work out in front of a ton of coaches and GMs and writing letters. This is the guy you pick? No disrespect from Ben Simmons, you feel me? Like I'm not with quitting the game of basketball because it's hard at the time and because I'm not playing right, I don't feel right. Everywhere I go, it's an issue and an excuse. I'm injured, and I understand injury, but to quit the game of basketball and to come back to get an opportunity, and you got Cam Thomas who don't have a job, who like putting in that work year after year and like a guy can just quit and come back anytime. I don't I don't like that at all."
Patrick Beverley: "I'm still doing it, man. Year 19, I'm still playing basketball, man. I get a chance to play with a new team in France, you know me, and I've kind of found my niche, you know. I'm not going to do the EuroLeague, I'm not going to do the big clubs. No, I want to take teams that are in the middle of the pack, that want to go up, and I'm going to bring them up, and that's my niche."
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Patrick Beverley: "I didn't know what Olympiacos, I didn't understand the team I was playing for at the time until probably five months into the season. My first professional team was a second division team in Ukraine. So I went from Ukraine, got drafted to the NBA, I spent one more year in Greece, which was the team with Olympiacos. A lot of people don't understand, I don't think they even know this, I tried out for Olympiacos and made the team. I didn't come in a situation where they wanted me. My agent knew someone, I tried out for Olympiacos, I just went there playing hard and I made the team."
Patrick Beverley: "What was said in Indiana was, I've never been spoken to that way my entire life in the NBA. I'm going to just say that. Do I regret the way I handled things? Of course. Could I have had handled things better? Of course. Obviously that you cross and you don't cross when it comes to just talking to anybody, any human being. And that line for the people that were around, that line was crossed several times. Did I handle it the best way? Probably not, but would that person go around saying those things again? Probably not."
Patrick Beverley: "Montrezl Harrell gets into a verbal argument with Paul George. That dynamic doesn't look good. They let Montrezl Harrell walk. Lou Kennard comes in, he signs a four-year $60 million deal. They got Lou Williams, the most six-man in NBA history, they got him on an $8 million deal. Lou Williams pissed. I come in, I ask for an extension, they try to lowball me. So they're doing all of this to keep superstars happy. And then you get rid of Paul George, and you get James Harden, and you get Russell Westbrook. You get rid of them, and you cut Chris Paul. Only person that you keep is Kawhi Leonard. Phenomenal basketball player. Don't get it twisted. Kawhi Leonard, when healthy, is a phenomenal basketball player. It's not even close actually. He has Michael Jordan numbers when he's healthy."
Draymond Green: "Patrick Beverley said on the The Analysis podcast that he helped ignite the winning culture in Minnesota. He said I really put on for the city of Minnesota. I don't know if people know this, but they hadn't missed the playoff, they haven't missed the playoffs since I got there. I'm not saying it's all me, but I started something in Minnesota for sure. I just want to remind Patrick Beverley that when he got there, young Ant-Man was there. Now, what I will say is, you can't take credit away from Patrick Beverley because Patrick Beverley brings a certain mentality to a group. And for a young talented player like Ant-Man to see that mentality and say, ah, okay, and also get that first taste of the playoffs, it then set you up for the future. So I'm not going to come on here and say, oh man, Patrick Beverley is tripping. I do want to remind him that a young Ant-Man was on his way."
Patrick Beverley: "I signed a three-year $40 million contract with the Clippers. I turned down a three-year $50 million with Sacramento just to stay with the Clippers. For me to be there, all the great guards they've had, I was part of that starting five that helped the Clippers go to the first time ever Western Conference Finals. They've had great guards. They've had James Harden, they had Russell Westbrook, they have Chris Paul, they've had Rajon Rondo. They had a plethora of point guards that just can never help them get over the hump, but I was part of that starting five that helped them finally, first time ever, and they haven't been back since, get to the Western Conference Finals."
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Patrick Beverley: "The no was like four to five million dollars total for one year. I left the meeting, I called Kawhi, and then they called me back down and my agent said they lifted it up to six to eight million. And then I'm like, okay, well I definitely want to go for sure, because why do you need to call Kawhi for anything when I've been here the longest?"
Patrick Beverley: "The first team we play against is the Clippers, and if we win, the Minnesota gets into the playoffs after 16 years. Jimmy Butler has been there, Derrick Rose has been there, all these different players have been there, high-level players, all-star, Jeff Teague, all-star caliber type players, and Minnesota has never been there. And then you inject Pat Bev in there and we're playing with a number seven seed."
And as he explained, speaking about NBA players and their ability to play in Europe: “They have no clue. It’s not a disrespect to everyone’s game physically on what they can do, it’s just mentality wise. There are NBA superstars right now who couldn’t play in Europe. I truly believe that. They simply couldn’t.” Beverley explained that there are differences both on and off the court: “The adjustment is completely different. Everything revolves around the team. The coach controls everything. It’s almost like a college team made up of adults. The team comes before each individual. You sometimes share a hotel room with a teammate. Travel isn’t organized for your comfort like it is in the NBA, even though it’s improved tremendously. And in the game, you can decide: ‘We’re not taking any shots until there are six seconds left on the clock.’ Everything is built on defense. It’s totally different.”
Legion Hoops: Pat Bev says he helped ignite the winning culture in Minnesota: “I really put on for the city of Minnesota, and I don’t know if people know this, but they haven’t missed the playoffs since I got there… I’m not saying it’s all me, but I started something in Minnesota for sure.” (via @ThanalysisShow)