Patrick Beverley brilliantly used a photographer's camera to a ref to prove LeBron was fouled and got a tech
Los Angeles Lakers veteran guard Patrick Beverley continues to be one of the NBA’s most signature personalities.
On Saturday night, he earned what might be the most epic (and most hilarious) technical foul in NBA history as he tried to defend his teammate LeBron James after an egregious missed call on James at the end of regulation.
On that fateful play, James tried to win the game for the Lakers against the Boston Celtics on the road as the seconds ticked down. As James went up for the bucket, Celtics star Jayson Tatum hit James’ arm on the shot.
The refs didn’t call the foul, which made James absolutely furious.
Beverley, being one of the sports’ premiere personalities, decided to take someone’s camera (?!) onto the court and seemingly show one of the referees the shot attempt to try and clarity why James should’ve gotten the foul called in his favor.
Of course, the referee immediately got flustered and called the technical foul on “Pat Bev.”
Patrick Beverley brings a camera onto the court to show a ref that a foul should've been called on the LeBron James layup try. pic.twitter.com/uvgLYFt99W
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 29, 2023
Patrick Beverley deserves to have an award named after him for bringing a camera on the court to show the refs evidence of what they got wrong. pic.twitter.com/5qJy9ExlNU
— Bryan Kalbrosky (@BryanKalbrosky) January 29, 2023
The moment actually came after Beverley made a key putback dunk to help the Lakers inch closer to overtime.
PATRICK BEVERLEY pic.twitter.com/HgX8x2q4Cy
— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 29, 2023
However, a few minutes later, the only thing that mattered was the technical foul.
The referee pool report was very blunt after the game when Beverley’s tech came up.
no notes. perfect. pic.twitter.com/D4A8qqKNgv
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 29, 2023
Beverley’s candid camera moment will likely become an instant meme and one of the most talked-about moments in the NBA season.
It’s the dramatic finish that people want to tune in for, and you just can’t draw something like this up. You have James, one of the greatest to ever play basketball, having an all-time (justified!) meltdown after an absolutely bizarre missed call. Then, you have Beverley, the league’s best troll and jokester, taking someone’s camera onto the court to show the refs why they were wrong.
That’s why we love the NBA. You just never know what’s going to happen.