Patrick Beverley is now an established NBA player. But his early life was far from smooth and prosperous. In an interview with Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN the 31-year-old point guard remembered his beginnings.
Professional sports saved the life of the Chicago native who would have probably ended as a drug dealer:
When asked to consider what his life would be without professional sports, the Clippers guard doesn’t hesitate: “I probably would’ve been the best drug dealer in the world.”
In fact, he was doing drug dealing until a family tragedy made him seriously think about what he is doing with his life.
So what would his life be like had he remained a dealer?
“Rich, I’ll tell you that,” Beverley said. “During that time I wasn’t really scared of anything, and those are the most dangerous people. I knew the ins and outs. … I know the rules of the streets and then it was like, I got an extra credit class from all the guys my mom dated.”
The Clippers point guard revealed that it was the death of his cousin Donovan Morris that really shook him and his finally up. Just 48 hours after the tragedy Beverley got a call from Ukraine and started his pro career with Dnipro. The rest is history.
