Houston Rockets: A tribute to former Rocket Patrick Beverley

The Houston Rockets sent shockwaves through the league when they traded for superstar point guard Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers. But with that trade came the losses of a litany of solid contributors including Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, and of course, Patrick Beverley.

The Houston Rockets hadn’t had too long of an attachment to Lou Williams as he had only been with the team for half a season and Sam Dekker really only had one season with us as his first year in the league in 2015-2016 he was injured a majority of it. Montrezl Harrell provided a lot of energy and hustle off the bench and he had some good games with us but wasn’t a fan favorite.

Patrick Beverley on the other hand. He was a fan favorite. And it hurts to see him go.

Patrick Beverley brought the kind of toughness and energy that made other teams HATE him. He was pesky, he talked trash, he ran after every loose ball with every bit of effort he could.

He’d come in from behind the three point line and steal a rebound from an opposing team’s power forward or center leading to a Rockets second chance opportunity and getting not only his teammates fired up, but getting the crowd up on its feet and making some noise because of his hustle. He represents the type of giving an all-out effort 100 percent of the time style of play that Houston fans love.

And while the team is doing what it has to do to compete with the Warriors by trading for Paul, the scrappy junkyard dog that is Patrick Beverley will be missed dearly. It wasn’t just his style of play that we loved, but Patrick Beverley’s story is one of hard work and pursuing your dream in spite of the long odds of you making it come true.

Beverley will most likely never be an all-star. He’s not going to lead the league in scoring or record a bunch of triple doubles in a season. He won’t be in the Hall of Fame. But the fact that he’s an NBA starter after all he’s gone through is in and of itself a reason to love him.

He grew up on the west side of Chicago in a tough neighborhood which is where he got his attitude from as he stated last September in an interview with Adrian Wojnarowski (ironically the person who broke the story of Beverley being traded for Chris Paul):

"The friends I grew up in high school with, they’re from some of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago. We all go back. It’s just different. It’s the constant of every time you’re leaving the house, having to look over your back because you don’t know what might happen. I won’t say I enjoy that, but it’s something that’s made me who I am. It’s made me appreciate every moment I have in the NBA. I’m not proud of the city, of course — the violence — but I am proud of the city. It’s where I come from. It’s a big part of who I am, for sure."

Patrick Beverley made it out of one of the toughest areas in the country to go to University of Arkansas and was voted Freshman of the Year by the SEC. Due to a poor decision during his sophomore year where he let another student write a paper for him, Beverley was suspended and had to make a tough call of returning to school for another year despite his suspension or making money as he had a baby daughter on the way.

Beverley decided to forego his junior year and play overseas to make money for his family. For five years, from 2008-2013, Patrick Beverley struggled and worked so hard just to get a chance to play in a regular season NBA game.

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He bounced around the globe, from playing in the Ukraine to Greece to being the last player cut by the Miami Heat in the pre-season to Russia to a back up on the Rockets D-League team, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, to back-up guard for the Rockets to starting guard on a playoff caliber team.

He’s been through so much adversity and yet never gave up. There are fans of other teams who hate him (Specifically Oklahoma City Thunder fans), but he is truly the epitome of hard work and never giving up.

It will be weird to see Beverley in another uniform the next time we see him on the floor of the Toyota Center, but there shouldn’t be a single Rockets fan who is a true Rockets fan that doesn’t wish Beverley all the best and wouldn’t take him back on the team in a heartbeat if given the chance.

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And in case you’re wondering about how Beverley feels about us, the feeling is mutual per his goodbye letter he posted on twitter thanking the organization and the city for the opportunities and support he received while here. We’ll miss you Pat, and thanks for all you brought to the Rockets team over the past five years.

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