Patrick Beverley recounts how he had to pay his way into the NBA / News - Basketnews.com

Patrick Beverley recalled the financial hardships he had to go through to be able to play in the NBA after a five-year stint in Europe.

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

After his first season in Ukraine with Dnipro and a EuroLeague debut with Olympiacos Piraeus in 2009-10,Patrick Beverleygot a chance to play in the NBA. The Lakers drafted him in 2009, but the Miami Heat acquired the draft rights for the American guard, who was soon released.

Patrick Beverley

MIN:26.96PTS:6.1 (46.2%)REB:3.62As:2.66ST:0.86BL:0.45TO:0.93GM:29ProfileNBA2022/2023

He went back to Europe and made a return when the Houston Rockets signed him in 2013. Since then, Beverley has been one of the NBA's most tenacious defenders, a real pest for any offense. In his 11-year career, he's made three All-Defensive teams.

In a recent episode of 'Cold as Balls', Patrick Beverley discussed how hard it was for him to reach the NBA. During the episode, actor Kevin Hart and theLos Angeles Lakersplayer discussed the debt Beverley amassed by signing with the Houston Rockets. The experienced guard claimed the release clause from Spartak Saint Petersburg, a now-defunct Russian club, required a payment of $1.6 million.

Beverley played in Russia from 2011 through 2013, winning 2012 EuroCup MVP honors. In the summer of 2012, he announced that he wouldn't return for the following season, but Spartak stepped on a clause on the player's contract stating that he could only leave for the NBA. That's exactly what happened four months into the 2012-13 campaign.

"I get drafted to the Miami Heat, and two months later, I get cut," Beverley recalled. "You know I'm back depressed again. I know I'm gonna get there; I just got to see.

The moment I said, 'You know what, forget about my NBA career, I'm going to focus on my European career. I'm gonna make a ton of money over here, break every f****ng record. Take this bum a** team EuroLeague, and we're going to do something special.'

The moment I thought like that, three days later, I get called up by the NBA," said Beverley, now 34.

Beverley had signed a three-year, $3 million contract with Spartak in 2011, but when he joined the Rockets, he had to repay a $1.4 million debt to his former team.

"I had to pay. I signed a no-NBA clause overseas," the player told Kevin Hart.

"I think at the time, the buyout for the NBA was only $250,000. I'm 22 years old, I don't know the business side of it. I'm thinking, 'They can pay the $1.6 million - NBA got that.'

My agent tells me, 'No, they can only pay $250,000.' So, I’m looking at him like 'So, who pays the other $1.4 million?' and he says, 'you got to.'"

Beverley confessed to living with his mother and receiving just $11,000 in paychecks at the time.

"I'm living with my mom in the NBA. My mom is going out to do nails, and I'm going to NBA practice. I'm coming home like, 'Yo, what we got for dinner?' So like, that was my life, my first couple of years in the NBA," Beverley explained.

Full episode here:

Thank you for reading us! We have even more content for you.