Patrick Beverley has never had a problem saying exactly what he thinks about another player’s game. This time,it got back to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who responded almost right away.
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Beverley made the comments on the @3sandones Podcast alongside Nasir Core and Michael Beasley, during a segment ranking NBA players in one-on-one matchups. The conversation started as a broader argument about isolation basketball before turning into a direct shot at McConnell, Tyrese Haliburton’s backup at point guard for the Indiana Pacers.
Beverley opened with a wider claim about the sport itself. “If you took the top five best one-on-one players and you just took five guys in the NBA, not even top five guys in the NBA, one-on-one players would lose. It wouldn’t be a game. Not even close,” he said. Beasley pushed back, arguing that “the best five-on-five guys can’t play one,” calling it a totally different game.
That disagreement is where McConnell’s name came up. “See, I’m saying like, okay, TJ McConnell, when he come out here, he would get fried,” Beverley said. When Core questioned whether he actually believed that, Beverley doubled down: “I know so. But when he get the ball, when he get the ball, I know so.”
Beverley Doubles Down as Giannis Responds
Asked to name anyone else who’d get “fried” in a one-on-one setting, Beverley didn’t add another name to the list. He circled straight back to McConnell instead. “Nah, TJ McConnell. Nah, he can’t do nothing with me,” he said, with Core agreeing before Beverley clarified his reasoning wasn’t about size or athleticism. “And it’s not about his color. I don’t want you to think that he white. Nah, I just, I see his game. He know how to get to his spot. You know how to make a mid-range, you know what I’m saying?”
McConnell built his career on exactly what Beverley referenced his handle and his ability to get to his spot for the midrange. He came up as a backup point guard in Philadelphia, and in Indiana, he’s now behind All-Star Tyrese Haliburton.
Ballislife.com posted the clip on X, and it pulled over 370,000 views. The post also included McConnell’s high school stat line 34 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists per game as a counter to Beverley’s take.
Giannis kept his reply short on Instagram: “Yeah okayyyy”.
Beverley spent parts of the 2023-24 season with Antetokounmpo on the Bucks before his exit from the team, giving his comments about a current Eastern Conference opponent an extra layer for Giannis to weigh in on. Whether McConnell responds himself remains to be seen, but for now, one of the league’s biggest stars has already made his skepticism of Beverley’s take clear.