Being in a highly competitive field, there is always a sense of competition even when you’re not in a game. Regardless of that, several athletes have time and again proved that opponents can form a great relationship outside the court or field. However, even a slight dispute during a game can end in a huge breakout between opponents, case in point is the recent brawl between the Detroit Pistons and the Orlando Magic. Therefore, when Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving had nothing but only praise for a particular NBA player, it prompted fans to question his motive behind it.

The Brooklyn Nets recently played against the Los Angeles Lakers in their home court on January 30. While the game was nevertheless exhilarating, fans felt the absence of NBA superstars Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis. While KD had been out for the past few weeks due to an MCL sprain, LeBron and AD sat out the game to rest due to soreness and a healing stress injury respectively.

Kyrie Irving compliments his Lakers opponent

In the absence of Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets star guard Kyrie Irving led the team to victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Nets scored 121 points against the Lakers’ 104, with Irving scoring a game-high 26 points. Following the victory, Irving had a brief chat with the New York Daily News?and talked about the performance of Patrick Beverley. With Pat Bev as his guard, Irving made two-of-eight shots from the field in contrast to his five-of-eight shots while being defended by other Lakers players.

Despite having his shots limited, Irving praised Beverley and said that he liked how the Lakers guard brought out his competitive spirit during the game.

Furthermore, he said, “If you can get by him, if you can score on him, then I feel like you can score on the majority of people in the league. That?s the respect I have for him.”

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The 2016 NBA champion’s comments regarding Beverley seemingly surprised NBA Twitter. While some agreed with Irving, others were more suspicious of the Nets star’s claims.

Below are a few of the tweets:

Beverley’s reply to Irving

Upon hearing the compliments from Kyrie Irving, Patrick Beverley had his own set of positive words to say for the 8x NBA All-Star. Beverley expressed his appreciation for the compliments and stated that Irving was the “ultimate competitor”.?Furthermore, he added that he always made sure to get a good rest before playing against Irving.

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“He doesn?t get rattled. He?s not one of those guys who you can try to bark at him and he?s fazed by that. He?s a real, real live basketball player. So all the gimmicks and that s–t, that s–t don?t work against him,” the 2x NBA All-Defensive Second Team told Daily News.

What did you make of Irving’s comments on Pat Bev? Let us know in the comments below.