In his sixth season in the NBA, Bradley Beal is posting career numbers in points, rebounds, and assists. The 24-year old is putting up 23.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists a game halfway through the season, but does not get the respect of fans as a house hould name. Isaiah Thomas, who had played just one game at the time, had more votes in the first fan update than Beal who ranked ninth among Eastern Conference guards, which dumbfounded many.
"We all know that and every coach that plays against us knows that is not the case," Scott Brooks said on Saturday before the Bucks game. "I like the 9th best guard then. ... I'm going to [create a Twitter account just to vote] now. Ninth?"
Unfortunately for Beal, and potentially more so for four-time All-Star point guard John Wall, the numbers game might catch up with the Wizards who are a distant No. 4 seed in the East. Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, and Victor Oladipo are probably locks. Ben Simmons and Kyle Lowry also have good cases to be sent to Los Angeles. There is no way that seven guards will be selected for a 12-man roster so one if not two players will be stuck at home during the festivities. One could argue that Beal was already cheated last season when Carmelo Anthony was chosen to replace an injured Kevin Love.
"I think he deserves it," Wall said after Tuesday's practice. "I think he deserved it last year and got snubbed. Sometimes that happens in this league. I feel like this year, there is no way he can be snubbed at all."
Neither Beal nor Wall will start in the All-Star game based on early returns from fan voting, which accounts for 50 percent of the starters voting, but you can bet that both will have a great chance at being a reserve because those spots are determined by the coaches. I think we know who Brooks will be representing.
"I've been saying it for a year and a half, he's an All-Star, he's been playing like an All-Star, he leads us like an All-Star, it's just a matter now of the fans or the coaches voting him in," Brooks said about Beal. "What I love about him is he is not focused on that. ... Two-way player that is consistent every night"
Growing up with four brothers and a mom who Beal admits is his best coach and harshest critic, the Florida product is a humble young man that is not going to go around trying to campaign for votes from fans or coaches.
"It's always last," Beal said about individual achievements such as being an All-Star. "Obviously I want to. I'm not going to be naive and say I don't want to be an All-Star, of course I do. That's not why I am going out and playing every night. The main goal is to win. If you don't win, you're not going to be one. We got to produce on the floor. Winning is far more important than that to me."
Even if Beal will not sing his own praises, his teammates are certainly willing to because they see first hand the impact he has had on the Wizards throughout this season.
"To me, to be honest, I don't think there's any 'hope', should be put in the category," Wall said about Beal's 'hopes' to be an All-Star. "He's been the MVP of our team. One of four guys to have 50 point games. Been leading us throughout ups and down when I was injured, when Keef was injured, when Otto was out. Even when us guys were back, he was still leading our team in scoring.But just doing so much more for our team, I think this should be an automatic lock for him for him to be an All-Star."
"It's about time, it's about time," Marcin Gortat said about Beal being an All-Star. "He improved himself in this league every year. Every year he's taking huge step towards being the All-Star. This year is hands down. Nobody better than him at his position. He's dominating. He's basically walking bucket offensively. Defensively, he made an incredible step forward also and he became much better defender."
"Definitely," Otto Porter Jr. said about Beal making the team. "If you look at all the All-Stars, he's done that plus some so I think he's definitely deserving."
"That's obvious," Ian Mahinmi responded when asked if Beal is an All-Star. "Bradley has been playing very well. We are one of the top teams in the East and he is probably the biggest reason why. He's been very consistent this year, had some monster games, closed out a lot of games for us. He's done all the right things to be an All-Star so I think it's well deserved. If last year he was already in the conversation, I feel like this year is no conversation. I feel like he's been playing at an All-Star level. Period."
Not only do Beal's teammates think he is worthy of being an All-Star, but several other players across the league as well.
"Bradley Beal is playing at an All-Star level this year," LeBron James said.
"He's been playing great," New York Knicks franchise player Kristaps Porzingis said. "I actually…I like him a lot as a player. I like his game. Him and John Wall are one of the top two guards and they're playing together in the league."
"I think Bradley Beal has been at that level all year long," DMV native Michael Beasley said about Beal playing at an All-Star level. "He is playing as well as anybody in the NBA. He had 27 points on 14 shots. It is Kevin Durant-esque as far efficiency goes. I love Bradley [Beal]. He is a great all-around player. He is exactly what the city needs."
"It’s tough," Bulls center Robin Lopez said about the difficulty of stopping Bradley Beal on New Year's Eve. "It’s tough. Guys like that are going to go off sometimes."
"They’re really good players," Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson said after the second game of the season about Wall and Beal. "They’re great players and they’re proven in this league. It makes it tough."