Although only for a very short time, the Miami Heat was the home team of Shaun Livingston. Heres what Pat Beverly had to say about the 3-time NBA Champion.
NBA players are marvelous athletes. We oftentimes see them as superhuman because in a sense they are when you consider what they are able to do with their bodies, especially if you consider someone like Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat. What we don’t oftentimes remember about these athletes though is that they are human.
On Thursday night, the very real and appreciative human side of one NBA player shone through in a tweet he used to pay tribute to a fellow NBA player and fellow original Illinoisian. Patrick Beverly of the L.A. Clippers and from Chicago, Illinois took to the twitter machine to share a few kind words about former Miami Heat player and three-time NBA Champion Shaun Livingston, who’s from Peoria, Illinois.
Have to say this before Season start. Sdot aka @ShaunLivingston never said a word of this due to competition but I remember watching you when u hooped in high school with the fro....U inspired me bro. Because of you I wanted to play downstate and that open many other doors🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) September 27, 2019
What a tweet! It really made you feel something after reading it. It is especially moving when you consider the source, one Patrick Beverly, who also makes you feel his physicality most of the time when he’s around you on the court.
While this exhibits a more human, compassionate, and appreciative side of Beverly as a whole and in itself, you should take notice of the part where he says “Have to say this before Season start”. That implies that classic Pat Beverly tenacity and competitiveness that has also opened “many other doors” for the Clipper guard.
As mentioned, Shaun Livingston didn’t really play for the Miami Heat that long, only four games to be exact. That still qualifies him as a former player though and this was too good of a moment to not share it with the Miami Heat Faithful. He’s been nothing but a class act throughout the entirety of his career and especially after you take that into consideration along with the fact that he dawned a Heat jersey at any point, he deserves the recognition.
Prior to his major knee injury in 2007 that saw him almost obliterate every major component of his left knee, he was the Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2004 and signed to Duke University. He only wound up passing up on Duke because he was subsequently drafted with the fourth overall pick in 2004 right out of Highschool by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Three NBA titles and 15 years later, Livingston called it quits a just a few weeks back. No matter what though and apparently, he made a vast impact and his legacy will live on.