Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has always been one of the master provocateurs in the NBA.
He is a big-time trash-talker, and he knows how to get under people’s skin.
Two seasons ago, Beverley was a member of the Los Angeles Clippers, a team that was the darling of the media that year.
They were picked to win the NBA championship, but they blew a 3-1 lead to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the playoffs.
Instead, it was LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers who took the world title in the Walt Disney World Resort bubble.
During a recent appearance on ESPN, Beverley said that there should be an asterisk next to the Lakers’ 2020 championship because it was won inside the bubble.
JJ Redick: "[The Lakers] had a treasure trove of young players. They put ‘em all on the table to get Anthony Davis and they won a championship—”
Patrick Beverley interrupts: "Bubble championship."
JJ and Pat then go back and forth about asterisks on titles 🤣 pic.twitter.com/w0PW3SoitN
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) May 16, 2022
The guard then made what seemed like a plausible point why he doesn’t consider the Lakers’ championship a real championship.
“But there’s no fans! There’s no fans. What about our fans? Some of the best fans in the world! Some of the best fans in the world. Do you think Milwaukee is walking into Boston… in the bubble?”
The problem with Beverley’s reasoning is that if the 2020 playoffs were held under normal circumstances, the Lakers would’ve actually benefitted from having fans in the stands by virtue of having the best record in the Western Conference.
If Beverley’s team had survived the Clippers and faced the Lakers in the conference finals, the Lakers would’ve had an advantage in that department since the majority of NBA fans across the Southland appear to root for the Purple and Gold.
