Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is reaching unprecedented territory in his career as he remains one of the best players in the NBA despite entering his 22nd season and being on the verge of turning 40.
Plenty of players have come and gone throughout the course of James’ career, and one example of that is Patrick Beverley.
The guard was a teammate of James’ on the Miami Heat when he first entered the NBA and then played with him again on the Lakers for the first half of the 2022-23 season.
Beverley has had a very successful 12-year NBA career, but James even outlasted him with the 36-year-old signing a contract to play with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroCup this season.
While Beverley has played overseas before to start his career, this is a new experience for him after playing in the NBA for so long. He is one of the most recognizable players in the league now, and he discussed how that makes him feel like James, via the Pat Bev Pod:
The love has been nothing but great overseas 👑 pic.twitter.com/fzD4aUg1ct
— Pat Bev Pod (@PatBevPod) September 4, 2024
Being treated like James everywhere you go cannot be easy, but it’s cool to see Beverley getting that type of recognition overseas. He is not a star by any means but has clearly impacted basketball fans across the world and is getting a chance to take on a bigger role while playing in Israel.
If Beverley is receiving that type of reaction though, one can only imagine what it would be like for James if he ever decided to play a season overseas to finish out his career.
Stephen Curry on growing friendship with LeBron James
Two of the biggest stars in the world got to team up this summer as LeBron James and Stephen Curry both played for USA Basketball during the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
James and Curry have been rivals for a decade but got to be teammates for the first time and predictably dominated. After a fun summer, Curry discussed how his respect and friendship with James is growing.
“All the battles we’ve had on the court and the back and forth, the fact that we actually got to be teammates, not just in any game like an All-Star game or whatever, but in high stakes basketball with a lot on the line…I think there’s a deepened respect and friendship there,” Curry said.
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