Ex-NBA journeyman who signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv: ‘Bomb go off, I’m gone’

Former NBA All-Defensive Team member and recent Hapoel Tel Aviv signee Patrick Beverley says he trusts current and former teammates who have told him that playing in Israel is safe, but will not stick around if a bomb goes off.

During a recent episode of his The Pat Bev Podcast, his co-host Rone points out the plethora of footage online depicting Israel as a warzone.

Beverley says he was in touch with an American who played basketball in Israel during the previous Gaza war in May 2021 and that he was still relaxing on the beach.

“I haven’t got knowledge of any not safe places in Tel Aviv right now,” the former NBA journeyman says.

Beverley says the American player also told him that every apartment has a bomb shelter but that he uses his for hanging up clothes. “He was like, ‘Yo, it’s paradise. I went to the beach every single day, six hours a day. I had no bad experience.'”

Beverley shares that he was accused of taking “blood money” after signing with an Israeli team. He stresses that the only factor in his decision was basketball.

“I’ve got family members and homies [who] die in Chicago every single day who no one even speaks about. But when I make a decision like this to go play basketball… everyone [becomes] the smartest expert of what’s going on in the world,” he laments.

Pressed again whether he’d continue playing in Israel if a bomb goes off nearby, Beverley responds, “Safety is important. Bomb go off, I’m gone.”

Beverley goes on to tout the contract he signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv. After his co-host makes a joke, Beverley quips, “Not all Jewish people are cheap. The guy who gave me this contract — he was pretty generous.”

Asked whether he read up on the conflict before making the move, the point guard responds, “I know who the alliances are — meaning who is who’s homie and who’s not. That makes me sleep a little bit better at night.”

“They like Black people over there?” Rone asks him.

“I don’t know. Who does?” Beverley responds.

Asked whether he’d go to Gaza, Beverley tells his co-host to “chill.”