Patrick Beverley surprised his fans on Thursday by announcing that he had been traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Milwaukee Bucks.
With this trade, Beverley is moving from one Eastern Conference contender to another, but it also puts him side by side with a longtime rival.
Beverley and Damian Lillard have butted heads in the past but it’s time to put that behind them.
“I gotta get my relationship right with Dame…It’s time to win a championship,” Beverley said, according to a video shared by Hoop Central.
“I gotta get my relationship right with Dame…It’s time to win a championship.”
– Pat Bev
(via @PatBevPod, h/t @WorldWideWob)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) February 8, 2024
These two have ruffled each other’s feathers multiple times before.
Back in the 2020 NBA bubble, Beverley got under Lillard’s skin by mocking his “Dame Time” celebration after Lillard missed a clutch free throw.
Beverley would mock Lillard again after moving from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Lakers.
Just last season, Beverley and Lillard had to be separated during a Portland Trail Blazers-Lakers game and it was clear that the two men didn’t care much for one another.
Despite their multiple run-ins, Beverley is ready to put it aside and focus on winning, and so is Lillard.
After the trade was announced, Lillard told Chris Haynes: “As for Pat, he brings an edge and a defensive tenacity on the perimeter that we need. There are not many players who bring it on a nightly like him. I look forward to working together. Our past personal issues don’t trump an opportunity to win a championship.”
Beverley has always been a hot-headed, outspoken player who doesn’t mind upsetting the competition.
Therefore, there are numerous players throughout the league who have a rough past with him.
But he has shown that he can move beyond that and come together as teammates, even with people he has fought with.
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