ORLANDO, Fla. — Philadelphia 76ers veteran Patrick Beverley has never been one to be afraid to speak his mind. He is a basketball lifer, he knows the ins and outs of the game and the NBA, and he will give his opinion on plenty of topics.
The Orlando Magic were one of those topics. Earlier in the season, on “The Pat Bev Pod,” Beverley was going over the top 100 players list in the league. The Magic had two players featured on it in Franz Wagner and Rookie of the Year winner Paolo Banchero.
However, the Magic haven’t made the playoffs since 2020. Beverley stated: “If you got two people out of the top 100 on your team, Orlando Magic, you should be winning games.”
When Beverley entered the game on Wednesday at the Kia Center, he was greeted with a chorus of boos from the Magic fans. Clearly, they did not forget what he said about their favorite players.
“Everywhere I go I get booed,” he said after the Sixers defeated the Magic. “I think that’s a sign of respect. It actually helps me get going, but on the ‘Pat Bev Pod’ I mentioned that I really didn’t know about Orlando yet because it was still early. I guess they took it kind of serious, took it personal. They wanted to give me some boos, but that’s part of my career. I’m used to it.”
Beverley had 10 points off the bench in the win. He played well and impacted winning in a variety of ways to help Philadelphia succeed and move forward. The boos don’t add any extra motivation for him.
“You know me,” he said. “If it’s quiet, if it’s loud, I’m gonna try to impact winning as much as possible. Let the dominoes fall after that. I’m a basketball player. I enjoy playing the game, I enjoy going out there and embracing any type of challenge. If it’s a boo, if it’s not a boo, if it’s whatever. It comes with the process, you know?”
Beverley and the Sixers continue the road trip on Friday against the Houston Rockets.
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