‘Out of line’: NBA star slammed for ‘disrespectful’ live TV rant

One of the NBA’s biggest pests has been slammed for tearing a rival to shreds in a wild TV rant that has been labelled “disrespectul”.

Patrick Beverley ripped into Chris Paul.

NBA star Patrick Beverley has been slammed as “disrespectful” after he completely torched rival Chris Paul in a wild TV rant.

The Minnesota Timberwolves guard was appearing on ESPN’s talk shows after the Phoenix Suns crashed out of the playoffs on Monday (AEST).

The Suns had the best regular season record in the league and were one of the favourites to take out the NBA championship, but they fell apart in a disastrous 123-90 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of their second round series.

Watch Every Game of the The 2022 NBA Conference Finals & The Finals with ESPN on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >

Phoenix’s big guns went missing — Paul only had 13 points and four assists, while Devin Booker was also quiet with 19 points.

Beverley pointed the finger squarely at Paul’s defensive ability, declaring he “can’t guard anyone” and likening the 37-year-old point guard to a traffic cone.

“Ain’t nobody worried about Chris Paul and the Suns,” he said on ESPN’s First Take.

“Don’t get it twisted. He can’t guard. He can’t and everyone knows that … CP can’t guard anybody, man, everybody in the NBA know that.

“You know what you do with cones, in the summer time you got a cone, you make a move.

“What does the cone do? Nothing. He’s a cone. Everyone knows that, it’s just that y’all don’t want to accept that. Give him the Ben Simmons slander.”

Tell us how you really feel, Patrick. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Chris Paul had a shocker against Dallas. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images/AFP

Beverley, renowned as one of the NBA’s biggest pests on the court, helped lead Minnesota to their first playoff berth since 2018.

The Timberwolves were eliminated by the Memphis Grizzlies in six games of their first round playoff series.

Beverley even went as far to say Suns coach Monty Williams should have taken Paul out of the game against the Mavericks.

“I’m gonna give you Patrick Beverley truth,” he said.

“First off, I’m going to get a lot for this, but I don’t really care. They benched the wrong person. Should’ve benched (Chris Paul),” he said, adding Paul should’ve fouled out of Game 7.

“And I’m not saying bench him now. Once you see they started attacking Chris early and you know that might become a problem later on, you need to see how the team works without Chris in the game a little bit.

“I got benched. We won, though, so you don’t even remember that.

“So as a coach, you have to understand, they’re attacking my main guy, I can’t get buckets from him, I have to make an adjustment, whatever that adjustment is. And that’s no fault against Monty (Williams), he’s a great coach, Coach of the Year.

“But if (Timberwolves coach Ty Lue) T-Lue’s there, he’s making that decision. It’s a hard decision, but he’s making it.

“No one is afraid of Phoenix. Ain’t nobody scared of them.”

Patrick Beverley tore Chris Paul a new one. Photo: David Berding/Getty Images/AFP

NBA pundit Stephen A. Smith was stunned by Beverley’s take and told him to “watch yourself”.

The All-NBA defender responded: “Because you haven’t suited up. You now guys don’t like to tell all the truth to you.”

Former NBA player Matt Barnes wasn’t impressed by Beverley’s criticism of Paul either, calling him a “clown” and telling NBA Today “there’s a thin line between being critical and disrespecting”.

“And I feel like what Pat Beverley did today to Chris Paul, was completely disrespectful and out of line,” Barnes said.

Portland Trailblazers star Damian Lillard chimed in, tweeting: “Bra on TV acting like his word law. Speaking on private convos and praying on mfs downfall. This weird behaviour smh‍️ … I ain’t got a horse in the race”.

He also later tweeted a post of Beverley’s stats with the comment: “Cuz nobody guarding this man”.