Patrick Beverley spoke about playing with LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers months before moving to L.A. during the offseason.
Beverley has said he wasn’t expected to get traded in the summer. But back in May, the 34-year-old playmaker revealed he would love to play in L.A. if he was to leave the Minnesota Timberwolves — his team at the time. Not long after, he picked James as the NBA superstar he would like to play with.
Fast forward four months and Beverley is preparing for his Lakers debut with James by his side. Asked about what stood out from the opportunity to practice with the four-time NBA champion, the guard pointed to the All-Star’s basketball intelligence.
“It’s just high-IQ basketball,” Beverley said. “Knowing angles, knowing screening angles. One thing I have learned about [LeBron James], you see him throughout the game, you know, the elite pass.
“One of the best ever do it from his height, his size. So just knowing all the screening angles, knowing when to roll. You look out the ball, it’s going to be right there on your chest. I mean, that’s just the nature of the business when you play with LeBron James.”
Interestingly, Beverley said it would be “fantastic” to share the court with Russell Westbrook when discussing the possibility of joining the Lakers back in May. The comment raised a few eyebrows considering the two guard’s years-long feud.
But Beverley and Westbrook quickly buried the hatchet after the former joined the Purple and Gold.
Beverley names Westbrook as his best friend on Lakers roster
Not only the Beverley-Westbrook feud has ended, but also it has morphed into a friendship. During Media Day on Monday, Beverley named the 2017 NBA MVP as his best friend on the roster.
“I’ve been here I don’t know, three weeks, three weeks in a half, maybe four and I’m just guessing. I don’t know, if I had to pick a best friend out of a team you usually have those it’d be him [Russell Westbrook],” Beverley said.
“And obviously I’m not saying it cause you guys are right here, it’s been the truth. He was at my press conference, we hit the weights together. And I mean, not like team weight stuff we’re in the lab 6, 6:30 in the morning together.”
Beverley also recalled Westbrook giving his sister courtside tickets when to a Houston Rockets game during the nine-time All-Star’s one-year run with the team.
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