Minnesota Timberwolves’ guard Patrick Beverley was ecstatic to defeat his former team in the NBA Play-In Tournament on Tuesday. The Inside the NBA crew on TNT even mocked the players for acting as if they won the championship. Shaq and Charles Barkley sang Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” The memes are gold right now.
Putting aside these funny moments, during Timberwolves’ head coach Chris Finch’s postgame interview, Beverley was heard yelling, “Coach of the f***ing year!” The player had a lot of built-up energy after defeating a team they were supposed to beat.
In his postgame press conference, Beverley said, “I’m going to try to sound humble, but I know that’s going to leave in about two seconds. We played a real good team, well-coached. Obviously, there’s emotions behind — former team. Man, I wanted this so bad. I wanted this one so bad.”
To add to the quote above, the guard went on to state, “Take they ass home. ‘Long flight to L.A. Take y’all ass home.’ It’s deeper than that for me, you understand? I gave my blood and sweat and tears to that organization. To be able to come here and play them in a play-in and beat they ass, no other feeling, man. No other feeling.”
NBA releases statement on Patrick Beverley’s actions
Beverley also uploaded a profanity-laced Instagram Live video on his account, but he removed the video for obvious reasons. However, the uncensored video is available on YouTube. If you choose to watch, viewer discretion is advised. To be fair, it just sounds like Beverley is salty over how the Clippers treated him. No matter the cost, he wanted to win.
Moreover, the NBA released a statement on Beverley’s unprofessional comments: “Minnesota Timberwolves guard Patrick Beverley has been fined $30,000 for inappropriate statements during a media interview and on social media, including the egregious use of profanity, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.”
Equally important, this is the second consecutive game Beverley has been fined by the league. In the Timberwolves’ 124-120 regular-season finale loss against the Bulls, the guard was fined $25,000 for improper conduct directed toward an official. And, he was ejected from the contest.
They play the Grizzlies in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET at FedExForum.
