Patrick Beverley, the veteran point guard recently acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks, has shared glowing praise for his new teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo, labeling him as “the best teammate.”
During an episode of the Pat Bev Pod, Beverley reminisced about his early days playing in Greece with Olympiacos, where he crossed paths with Thanasis, who was then playing for second division team Filathlitikos. Beverley revealed how Thanasis saw him as an inspiration.
Beverley recounted Thanasis expressing admiration for him, sharing how Thanasis revealed that watching Beverley play for Olympiacos inspired him to aspire to reach similar heights in his own career.
“He’s great, too,” Beverley said about Thanasis. “So you gotta think, I’m playing in Greece, right? I’m playing for arguably the best team in Greece, Olympiacos. I think he’s second division, right? Mind you, this is what he’s telling me like, ‘Pat, man, I remember bro watching you playing for Olympiacos. Like, damn, I want to be just like that.’
“So, I go Rockets. I’m on a team with the Rockets, I go one day, watch some guys work out. It’s him. ‘Hey Pat, man, I seen you walk into that gym. It just turn me up, made want to do.’
“Mind you, these are stories that I’ve never heard before. I don’t think someone looked up to me and wanted to embrace their game because of the things I’ve done on the court. So I’m getting all this from and I’m looking at hime like, ‘Damn, I don’t even know that.’”
Despite Thanasis’s limited playing time on the court, Beverley emphasized his invaluable contributions off the court, describing him as one of the greatest teammates he has ever had.
“One of the greatest teammates,” Beverley said. “So looking at it from the outside, looking in, you like ‘Man, what the f*ck?’ But being up under it, the best teammate. 110% every day. 110% in practice, encouraging up, talking all the time, a huge smile on his face. So yeah, shout out to TA.”
