Patrick Beverley was back in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon for his first game against the Los Angeles Lakers since they traded him, and to little surprise, he was ready to go. Not only did he put up a solid 10 points, four rebounds and five assists in the Chicago Bulls’ 118-108 win, but he also trolled everyone from LeBron James to Shannon Sharpe.
Beverley was traded to the Orlando Magic at the deadline then signed with the Bulls for the remainder of the season once he was released. In the aftermath of those transactions, and with two Bulls-Lakers games left on the schedule at that point, Beverley took aim at his former organization on multiple occasions on his podcast.
He first said that his goal was to “knock them out the playoffs” by winning both matchups: “We gotta get in the playoffs, so excuse us, like a little elbow scooch.” One down, one to go on that front. After their win over the Lakers on Sunday, Beverley and the Bulls will play them again on March. 29.
Later, Beverley gave some insight as to how his trade came about.
“To some people it could be that Pat Bev got traded, in all reality it was like, ‘No I didn’t like what was going on, and let’s find a better home for me,'” Beverley said. “Not that, ‘He ain’t good enough, let’s get rid of him.’ All that s— was my decision. You gotta think, I’m making a decision that was my decision. They honor my request, but at the same time now I’m sitting here without a home. It just hit a little different.”
As the Bulls salted away their win on Sunday, Beverley let his emotions out.
With just over a minute to play, Beverley got into the paint and spun for a little hook shot over LeBron James then hit an exaggerated “too small” celebration on the Lakers star, who was back in the lineup for the first time after missing 13 games with a foot injury.
If that wasn’t enough, he also made his way over to the courtside seating section to tell Shannone Sharpe that his favorite team stinks.
While these kind of antics are nothing new for Beverley, he does have some room to gloat. For one, he played well and helped his new team get a win in a game that was crucial for both teams. In addition, the Bulls are now 10-5 since his arrival, and he’s played a key part in that turnaround. Thanks in part to Beverley, the Bulls are now 36-38 and have opened up a three-game lead on the Washington Wizards for the final play-in tournament spot.
