Patrick Beverley is one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA. The morning before competing in Saturday night's Taco Bells Skills Challenge, he exhibited his trademark brand of confidence to a tee.
"There's definitely a lot of things I want to accomplish throughout my NBA career," Beverly said. "First being an NBA champion, but for right now being a Skills Champion."
Unfortunately, the Chicago native suffered a quick defeat, falling to Toronto Raptors star Pascal Siakam in the first round:
Though Siakam is an immensely talented player, the 6-foot-9 forward dispatching the hometown hopeful so easily definitely qualifies as an upset. #NBATwittter took note and had some fun with the result:
Beverly, who is recovering from a groin injury, wasn't too down on himself afterwards, saying he was happy to get through the event with his health.
"First time I seen centers pass the ball way better than guards, the game is changing for sure," he added of the eventual champion Bam Adebayo (and runner-up Domantas Sabonis).
And while the defeat was a tough one for the Chicago native, he made the rounds on social media after the fact, when a clip surfaced of him teaching some young fans the value of please and thank you:
At the end of the day, for Beverly, it was just good to be home.
"It was phenomenal, man. I think the last All-Star game here was 32 years ago. I'm 31 so, growing up I've never seen an All-Star here. Anybody that knows Chicago basketball, it unites the city, connects it together, and as you see this weekend, it's been phenomenal so far."
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