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Trae Young turns 27 today. His gift? An appearance in the highest court in the land.
Beef Court!
Making sense of Trae vs. Pat Bev
The podcast world is fertile ground for feuds. Put a microphone in front of someone, and eventually, they’ll say something that will make a headline. The fun really comes, however, when the back-and-forth starts. Patrick Beverley and Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young provided that this week.
It all started when Beverley responded to a question on X about the lack of effort players show in the NBA All-Star Game while seeming to give a lot more effort in offseason pickup games. Beverley replied that All-Stars take the game for granted.
Young, a four-time All-Star, replied, “Relax. Let us speak for ourselves.”
Ouch.
Beverley didn’t take Young’s response quietly and responded Wednesday on “The Pat Bev Podcast.”
“I don’t think he’s won enough to even speak to me like that or tweet me like that,” Beverley said. He followed that up by stating that Young is “too relaxed” because he’s only made the playoffs three times in seven seasons. He added that he knows players who have been on Young’s team in Atlanta who do not believe he is a good leader. Beverley acknowledged that he’s never been an All-Star, but basketball is a team game, and he’s been a regular in the postseason.
Young responded with a nearly 12-minute video. Among many things, he noted all of the stars who “carried” Beverley and that he was never scared of “Patty Bev” when he played against him and Beverley never had a “chance” of being an All-Star.
Young also poked fun at Beverley’s celebration on the scorer’s table after the Timberwolves won a Play-In game in 2022.
As you might expect, Beverley had more to say Thursday night. And as you might expect, it’s time to take this to Beef Court!
The case for Young: Examining how this all began, it’s hard to argue against Young. He has played in multiple All-Star Games and is presumably part of the pregame discussions and what is said during them. He would know what an All-Star is thinking while the action is happening. A lot of stars would also probably add that they are mentally and physically drained during All-Star Weekend, which is full of other non-game commitments, though that’s part of the deal when you’re a star-level player. Young didn’t mention that specifically, but he does point out that Beverley has no idea what it’s like to be in the position of an All-Star.
The case for Beverley: Beverley is no casual observer. He’s offering informed takes on basketball. Ideally, Beverley is offering his opinion based on his time in the NBA and the many conversations he’s had over the years. He has played with a lot of All-Stars, including LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more. But making the discussion about Young being a bad leader or not making the playoffs more (even if Beverley is right) doesn’t speak to anything to do with the All-Star Game.
The verdict: We’re riding with Young. All-Stars should speak on All-Star things. That’s not to say Beverley didn’t make points on how some view Young, who can become a free agent next summer, as a leader. But that’s a different conversation (and maybe a different Beef Court case).
The Last 24
Clippers saga continues
🏀Ballmer scammed? The Clippers say team owner Steve Ballmer was “duped” in response to the latest Kawhi Leonard deal allegations.
🏀 Major moment. David Aldridge wonders whether NBA commissioner Adam Silver can find his resolve with the investigation into the Clippers.
📺Minimal changes? ESPN says it’s aiming to preserve the format of “Inside the NBA” this season.
🏀Next level. Is Desmond Bane the player the Orlando Magic need to become a title contender?
🏀Herro injured. The Miami Heat guard will miss the start of the season due to a foot injury.
WNBA Playoffs
Fever, Aces survive Game 3s
The Indiana Fever celebrate their first-round win against the Atlanta Dream. (Dale Zanine / Imagn Images)
Thursday’s Game 3s in the WNBA playoffs did not disappoint.
A lot of people probably wrote off the sixth-seeded Indiana Fever after a host of injuries to Caitlin Clark (who’s now a coach? Sort of?), Sophie Cunningham and others. And when they were down by when they were down by five with two and a half minutes left against the No. 3 seed Atlanta Dream, a few others probably started penning those obituaries.
But the Fever didn’t go away. Thanks to layups by Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull and Aliyah Boston, Indiana scored the game’s final seven points to beat the Dream 87-85 and secure its first playoff series win since 2015.
The Fever are moving on to face the second-seeded Las Vegas Aces in a best-of-five series that starts Sunday, but that almost wasn’t the case. In the second leg of Thursday’s doubleheader, the Seattle Storm, uh, stormed back to lead twice in the game’s final two minutes, but a Jackie Young tip-in with 12.4 seconds left was the difference in Las Vegas’ 74-73 win. Counting the regular season, the Aces have won 18 of their last 19 games. Good luck, Fever!
Three of the four WNBA semifinalists are set. We’ll learn the final one tonight when the fourth-seeded Phoenix Mercury play host to the fifth-seeded New York Liberty (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in Game 3. Phoenix forced the series back home after an 86-60 blowout road win in Game 2 and appears to have momentum, but the defending champs are still the champs until they’re not anymore (though Breanna Stewart’s MCL injury complicates things).
The winner of the Mercury-Liberty series faces No. 1 Minnesota starting Sunday.
Lessons from Luka
Flips, a ‘kick’ and more
Lakers star Luka Dončić and his “Slim Luka” media tour continued this week.
Earlier in the offseason, there was the Men’s Health article in July in which he showed off the results of his summer workout program. Dončić was a fashion model again this week in a Wall Street Journal feature that focused on his reaction to being traded from Dallas to the Lakers, playing for Real Madrid, when he first met Kobe Bryant, and more.
LeBron James discussing Dončić’s IQ and just how out of shape Dončić was when he was traded are revisited, too. But there are some other interesting nuggets about Dončić, such as his affinity for the movie “High School Musical.” Maybe he landed a film or TV role with that admission.
Here are three other things that stood out to me in that Dončić piece.
- A headache is a teammate: Dončić said Marcus Smart is one of the biggest headaches he’s faced in the NBA, along with New Orleans’ Herb Jones. Smart was recruited to the Lakers when he became a free agent this offseason, and assuming both are healthy, the pair could share the backcourt pretty frequently in L.A.
- Dončić was into gymnastics growing up. His favorite thing in gymnastics was the trampoline for “different kicks, flips.” Maybe he’ll bring some of those moves to the court now that he’s 6-foot-6?
- Sliver is quoted as saying the Lakers-Mavs trade was a “bit of a kick in the a–” and that he thought Dončić was in a funk at one point. “It was probably the first true professional setback of his career,” Silver said. “And I was hoping personally for him that he would ultimately see this as an opportunity to reset.”
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(Top photo: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)