“You’ve been to one conference finals, I’ve been to one conference finals,” Trae Young shot at Patrick Beverley. “What year was that for you? Just another fact, Year 9. The year I made it was Year 3, just a fact… You talk about a winner, what have you won?” And that’s pretty much the heart of the Trae Young–Patrick Beverley beef: a clash over who’s won what, and who’s really done more. It all kicked off after Beverley’s jab on X about All-Stars ‘taking the game for granted.’ Young wasn’t having it, and just like that, fans got a fiery back-and-forth to follow.

Brandon Jennings came in hot on Gilbert Arenas’ show and unloaded on Beverley, saying, “How you going to talk about a All-Star weekend you ain’t never been in? Come sit on the couch with me. Shut up. Don’t talk about that s–…Don’t talk about what it takes to be an All-Star. We missed that. We missed it. I missed it, too. Come on. Come sit over here with us. Come talk s– with us. Shut up. Shut the f— up. Shut up. Shut the f— up…Come on Pat. Make a team or come play us 1-on-1. Get your podcast up. Come on man. Goddamn. God. Godamn.” And while the rest of the Gil’s crew was laughing, Jennings’ face stayed locked in—dead serious.

Yes, the score is simple- Patrick Beverley has zero All-Star appearances, Trae Young has four. That’s the backdrop of this whole back-and-forth. Brandon Jennings already tore into Beverley on Gilbert Arenas’ show, but Young didn’t hold back either. In an almost 12-minute video, he called Beverley nothing more than an attention seeker and fired back with, “You don’t know what it’s like to be in my position, you don’t know what it’s like to put my shoes on. I promise you — there’s not a selfish bone in my body.”

It wasn’t only Jennings backing Trae- Kevin Durant also weighed in. Reacting to Beverley’s post on X, Durant called him “delusional” while telling him the situation was getting out of hand. Still, Durant’s defense only goes so far because, fair or not, criticism like Beverley’s has followed Trae for years. In The Athletic’s anonymous 2024–25 player poll, Young was even voted the league’s third-most overrated player. That’s the kind of label that sticks, even when he’s putting up big numbers.

Now, here’s where it really matters- the upcoming season. The Hawks didn’t give Young the contract extension he wanted, and with just one guaranteed year left on his deal ($46 million for 2025–26), the pressure is squarely on him. Atlanta’s front office has built the strongest roster around him yet—Kristaps Porziņģis at the five, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard for shooting, Jalen Johnson back healthy, and Zaccharie Risacher stepping into Year 2. On paper, it’s a top-four team in the East.

For Trae, this is the test. Beverley’s jab about winning—or not winning—can only be silenced by results. If Young leads the Hawks deep into the postseason, he flips the narrative. But if Atlanta stumbles again, missing the playoffs for a third straight year, suddenly Beverley’s words don’t sound so far-fetched. This season won’t just settle a feud—it might define Trae Young’s reputation moving forward.

Funny enough, while Jennings challenged Pat to a 1-on-1, he’s in the same boat stats-wise—zero All-Star nods, just like Beverley.

Brandon Jennings: The All-Star career that almost was

Brandon Jennings’ NBA story is one of “what could have been.” The former top-ten draft pick skipped college to jump straight into the league and quickly showed he could hang with the best. Back in 2012, at just 22, he was having the best season of his young career, starting all 23 games for the Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 19.9 points and 5.4 assists, and firmly putting himself in All-Star conversations. “I would think I would have tears of joy if I did make it,” Jennings said back then. “I can just remember me playing as a kid in Europe that everybody doubted and said I would never make it. And (people) saying I’d never be a consistent player or I’d never be an All-Star.”

Everything changed on January 24, 2015. Jennings, then with the Detroit Pistons, tore his left Achilles against his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks. Before the injury, he was averaging 20.9 points and 7.9 assists that month, and Detroit had won 12 of their previous 15 games. “I would’ve been an All-Star for sure if I didn’t tear my Achilles,” he later reflected. “And I believe we would have made the playoffs that year in Detroit, and then I’d end up getting paid.” Unfortunately, recovery from an Achilles tear is brutal. Jennings returned in December 2015 but never regained his old form, starting only 20 of 143 games after the injury.

By 25, what looked like a promising career had taken a sharp turn. Detroit traded him to Orlando instead of committing long-term, and a brief stint with the Knicks on a one-year $5 million deal didn’t stick, marking the beginning of the end. Still, Jennings retired “forcefully” with over $40 million earned over nine NBA seasons, leaving fans to wonder what might have been. He averaged 14.1 points and 3.1 assists over 555 games, showing flashes of brilliance, and remains a reminder of how injuries can alter even the brightest careers.