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LeBron James surprised his Los Angeles Lakers fans by making a return to the court after missing 13 games amid fears that he would be out for the rest of the season.
The 38-year-old had been sidelined since February 28 with a foot injury, with one sports therapy expert warning that rushing him back early from the tendon strain would deliver an unfit James—but he was back all the same and he found himself being mocked on court by a former teammate.
Patrick Beverley, 34, had been with the Lakers before being traded to Orlando Magic and eventually ending with his hometown team, Chicago Bulls.
Patrick Beverley scores on LeBron and hits him with the 'too small' ?pic.twitter.com/Rcy7w5L8wq
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 26, 2023
He didn't hold back when exacting revenge on his former team, helping the Bulls to a 118-108 victory and sending James a message in the process.
After sinking a basket for two points in a one-on-one with James, in which Beverley left the NBA highest points scorer rooted to the spot, the Bulls star took great delight in giving the "too small" celebration in front of the basketball legend.
Bearing in mind that Beverley is 6-foot-2 compared to James' 6-9, it was a cutting gesture as the Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Beverley made light of the celebration, saying that James isn't the only recipient of such behavior after scoring.
"I do it to everybody," Beverley said. "I was just having fun, getting lost in the game. Just getting lost in the game, having fun, man. We're not construction workers."
He continued: "We're not guys that have to get up at 4 o'clock in the morning. We're professional basketball players. It's all about having fun. That's what we tried to do tonight, well, what I tried to do tonight."
Speaking about playing his former team, Beverley said he enjoyed meeting up with them again and his old coach, Darvin Ham.
He said: "I was just playing basketball, trying to get lost in basketball. Yeah, it was fun, man. Tonight was fun. Obviously, it's good to see some old teammates, old coaching staff.
"The opportunity coach Ham [and] Pelinka gave me when I was with the Lakers never goes unforgotten. Always grateful. Fortunate to get a win tonight."
Since Beverley joined the Bulls they have improved to 10-5, and he said that his skills have been a better fit in Chicago than they were with the Lakers.
He said: "Yeah, you know, if I'm a spoon, [Bulls coach] Billy [Donovan] is using me as a spoon. The Lakers, you know, I was a spoon and they used me as a fork."
Before facing his old team, Beverley had said that he had one sole purpose when they met and that was to "knock them out of the playoffs."
While there seemed no sentimentality in his feelings for the Lakers, the point guard did admit that his time in L.A. was "amazing."
Speaking about playing for the Lakers, Beverley said: "We had a lot of fun.
"Obviously, you wished you would have won a little bit more games. But you really can't put a hand on that. But I had a great time, man.
"Obviously, LeBron, he has always been my big bro. He was my vet when I came into the league with the Miami Heat. AD [Anthony Davis], he is from Chicago and it's always love.
"So, we built a real bond and I'm just happy those guys got it rolling and I'm happy for their success."
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