Through Independence Day, the Philadelphia 76ers' lone veteran addition in 2023 NBA free agency is Patrick Beverley. Yet another former player for the Houston Rockets, the 34-year-old point guard has the tenacity that Philly will appreciate and brings a blend of playoff experience and point-of-attack defense to the table for the Sixers.

Beverley said on his podcast that he was talking with numerous teams, such as the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, as the Sixers came calling. He called Doc Rivers, the head coach Philly just fired that Beverly calls a mentor and “d*mn near a father figure,” to get a sense of what he could expect. The Sixers' former coach gave him a recruiting pitch that convinced him to sign.

“I might go to Philly. Obviously, you was [sic] there. How'd you like the situation?” Beverley said that he asked Rivers. “This is a Hall of Fame coach that just got fired. His response, exact words: ‘I love Philadelphia for you. They need you. You will be great with Joel, James — he respects you, you would be great with him. If I had you last season, we would’ve been a different team.’”

Beverley said that as soon as Rivers gave that vote of confidence in a team that just fired him, he let his agent know that he wanted to go to the Sixers.

In 67 games between the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls last season, Beverley averaged 6.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. His role with the Sixers will be that of a backup guard and his minutes may partly be decided by whether his three-point shooting increases. He shot 33.9 percent from deep over his last two seasons but 39.3 percent over the preceding six seasons.

Beverley has familiarity with Daryl Morey and James Harden, the key Rockets fixtures during his days in Houston, and with Tobias Harris, whom he played with on the Los Angeles Clippers. He also played briefly under new head coach Nick Nurse with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston's G League affiliate team. While his best days are well behind him, Philly believes Pat Bev has something to offer to the team as it looks to avoid yet another playoff embarrassment.

The Sixers' instance of getting mentally tougher only marginally helped them in the playoffs. Many in the organization claimed that P.J. Tucker was a huge positive and clearly wanted to get more veteran experience and tenacity. In Patrick Beverley, they added just that.