We often hear criticism of the NBA due to players being friends with each other instead of rivals. However, despite the friendship era in the NBA, we still see players with a competitive spirit against the opposing teams. Let’s look at the Western Conference Finals, for example. The OKC Thunder took a comfortable 3-1 lead in the series after their 128-126 win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.<\/p>\n
Patrick Beverley<\/a>, the former teammate of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, claims the OKC Thunder<\/a> superstar refused to dap him up after Game 4 in Minnesota simply because he was wearing an Anthony Edwards<\/a> jersey. After his 40-point performance in Game 4, Gilgeous-Alexander refused to celebrate with his former teammate due to his competitive spirit. Beverley went on his podcast and spoke about the experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019mma tell you about Shai, how cold Shai is. I go to Shai after the game to dap him up. He says, \u2018I ain\u2019t gonna lie, I can\u2019t dap you up right now, OG.\u2019 Uh, the f**k? Why? \u2018Why? You had on that mf jersey. Jersey I had on was Anthony Edwards. That\u2019s the mindset you have to have. Don\u2019t even come near me with that jersey on- type sh*t. I respect it, I like it, that\u2019s how you have to be. I knew where it\u2019s coming from, it\u2019s coming from a good place, it\u2019s coming from an organic place, and he locked in. That\u2019s what I took like, oh yeah, he locked tf in right now, I love it\u201d<\/p>\n Gilgeous-Alexander was drafted by the Clippers<\/a> during the time Patrick Beverley still played for them. Despite being former teammates with Beverley, he refused to greet him nicely because he was wearing his opponent, Anthony Edwards’ jersey, at the game. To be fair to Beverley, you can’t blame him for supporting the Timberwolves as he played for them and not for the Thunder. But Gilgeous-Alexander refused to mingle with the opposing side’s fans, irrespective of his personal history with them. That’s the type of competitive spirit we still respect around the league.<\/p>\n Chris Finch Didn’t Let Patrick Beverley Speak To Timberwolves Before Game 4<\/p>\n According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Chris Finch, the Timberwolves’ head coach, spoke to the media about Patrick Beverley’s attendance in the game. The reporters asked him whether he would invite Beverley to the locker room to speak to the team and motivate them.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019ve had enough Pat Beverley pregame speeches,” he said.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n