Patrick Beverley slams controversial ‘whitest black guys’ on NBA roster with 76ers star Mo Bamba hitting back: ‘One of the reasons it’s hard to move the culture forward’

Milwaukee Bucks star Patrick Beverley has come under fire for naming his top five ‘whitest black’ players in the NBA.

The polarizing guard, 35, revealed his list during the latest episode of his ‘Pat Bev Podcast’ with co-host Adam Ferrone after the pair previously listed their top five ‘blackest white’ NBA stars.

Furrone refused to participate in this edition, saying he was unable to be a white man, leaving Beverley to reveal his list.

In order, Beverley named Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner, Philadelphia 76ers center Mo Bamba, Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams and New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum.

The controversial list quickly sparked backlash, most notably from Bamba, who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to hit back.

“Okay, I have time today @patbevpod,” Bamba wrote. ‘I’m a top 5 black and white guy because I can correctly articulate how I feel and how I see things? You wise man, do your research.

‘I’m not a gangsta by any means, but I’m born and raised from Harlem. I made it from the block and out of the trenches (sic).’

The Philadelphia center continued to fire back at Beverley, blasting him for sitting with his legs crossed.

“Second, sitting there with your legs crossed like that and asking your white co-host to publicly question my blackness is one of the reasons it’s hard to move the culture forward,” Bamba wrote in his next post along with a laughing emoji.

Beverley had explained that Bamba’s inclusion on the list was due to his preference for shooting 3-pointers over playing inside and for his ‘finesse game’.

But Bamba wasn’t the only NBA player to take exception to Beverley’s shortlist, with McCollum also hitting back.

“Ask (Damian Lillard) about me before you talk about my name,” McCollum wrote in an Instagram comment on a video of the comments with Lillard, a Bucks teammate of Beverley’s.

Beverley explained that the motivation to reveal the list came from a comment that responded to the pair’s previous ‘black and white’ player list.

“Let’s get right to what people want to see,” Beverley said. ‘We made the blackest whitest guys. I read the comments and I like reading comments. You had to make a whitest blackest five.’

He later added that it “doesn’t have anything to do with their basketball game,” but rather their “swag.”

He also insisted that it was ‘all fun and games’ and that ‘every boy can jump, everybody’s in the NBA for a reason.’