The step-back is James Harden's signature move and Patrick Beverley claims he was the one who taught him how to do it. On the latest episode of the Pat Bev Podcast with Rone, Beverley revealed a conversation he had with Harden during Monday's game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers.
Patrick Beverley: "So me and beard, I started my career off with beard, always bro. I make move in the middle, he likes the left step-back, pull back. I make move, right step-back, pull back. I hit it, look at him... He goes, 'Where you get that from?' (I said), 'Me. You forgot? I told you about the step-back. You asked me why I'm stepping back so much when I came from overseas.'"
That's quite an interesting claim from Beverley. He, of course, played overseas in Ukraine, Greece, and Russia before finally getting a chance to play in the NBA with the Houston Rockets in 2013. That was when he first became a teammate of Harden, who had been traded to the Rockets by the Oklahoma City Thunder before the 2012-13 season.
While it would be easy to dismiss his claims, Beverley was a prolific scorer back in high school and won EuroCup MVP when he was playing in Russia. He may well have learned the move at some point along the way and Harden could have asked him about it.
Whether Beverley taught him the move or not, Harden perfected it in a way that his former teammate couldn't. It became his signature move and he used it to deadly effect to become a 10-time All-Star and win three straight scoring titles from 2018 to 2020.
Beverley has never even come close to hitting those heights but has had a solid career nonetheless. The 35-year-old also managed to get the win over his former teammate on Monday, as the Bucks beat the Clippers 113-106 in Milwaukee. The contest was Beverley's first start as a Buck and he finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and a block.
Patrick Beverley Blasted The Bucks' Critics
Beverley was traded to the Bucks at the deadline by the Philadelphia 76ers. He joined a team that was struggling under new head coach Doc Rivers, which had caused a whole lot of criticism to come their way. Milwaukee then managed to win its first five games after the All-Star break, which led to Beverley calling out the Bucks' critics.
"At All-Star break, they talked about us like a dog, didn't they? They got on TV, they clowned our players, and they told the coach he was... They clowned us, didn't they? Little quiet now."
Beverley wanted the apology to be as loud as the disrespect. It is true that Milwaukee wasn't exactly getting a lot of credit from the media during their winning run. The Bucks then beat the Clippers to make it six straight wins but have lost two in a row since to drop to 41-23.
They will get a chance to break that losing streak when they face off against the Clippers again on Sunday night. Beverley, who is averaging 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game as a Buck, would be keen to get another win over his former teammate and team.
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