Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal has seen his team change dramatically over the last few months. Out went John Wall, who was ultimately traded to the Houston Rockets. In came Russell Westbrook, the former league MVP they got in return.
This week, Beal appeared on Brian Geltzeiler’s Sirius XM radio show and described what this year has been like.
Specifically, he addressed the impact Westbrook has had on him and the others in the locker room.
In the process, he inadvertently answered the question of who the best teammate he’s ever had is between Westbrook and Wall.
“For me, it’s seeing how he brings it every single day,” Beal said of Westbrook.
“As a leader. As a player. As a father. As a man. Like, he’s the best teammate probably I’ve ever had, and just in terms of leadership, probably one of the best leaders I’ve been around. Because he holds himself accountable. He holds himself to a certain standard.”
Beyond just being a great teammate, Westbrook also motivates Beal to work harder to continuously improve himself.
“I looked at [Westbrook] and I was like, ‘Okay, well, I can do that. I can play hard every single night,” Beal continued.
“I can give my teammates my all every night. I can be locked in to make sure that my body’s ready to go, that I’m mentally ready to go. I think that’s a true testament to who he is. Everybody had their opinions of Russ coming into the year, if he’s a good teammate, bad teammate, whatever. But he’s been nothing but awesome for us. He’s been nothing but great.”
One can’t help but wonder what Wall thinks of that answer, and if that has something to do with his ongoing beef with the Wizards.
Beal currently leads the league in scoring with 32.9 points per outing on a career high 48.2 percent shooting from the field.
After getting off to an extremely slow start, the Wizards are now 14-20. The fact that 14 wins in 34 outings is an improvement speaks to what a bad place Washington was in earlier this year. Even Beal’s wife was frustrated with the team at one point.
The real star of All-Star weekend. https://t.co/jAMuWDI2Vl
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 9, 2021
In the beginning of the season it looked like Beal getting dealt was inevitable. The Wizards even went so far as to quietly reveal what they wanted in return for him.
Beal responded in kind by quietly putting out which five teams he’d be willing to play for.
That said, between his apparent adoration of Westbrook and the fact that the Wizards sort of seem to be turning things around, Beal may end up staying in Washington longer than many anticipated.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
