Even though All-Star Weekend is supposed to be a break for NBA players, it has been a tiring experience for first time All-Star Bradley Beal as he shuffles practices for the game and three-point contest as well as media availabilities. The Washington Wizards shooting guard is still embracing the experience and cannot wait to try and bring home the three-point contest trophy back to D.C. and he has already strategized to have his money ball set at the fourth rack at the slot. He also shared that he does not care where he was picked in the All-Star draft even if he was last (he was not). Interestingly enough, Beal admits some mishandling early in the season, "we were probably talking a little bit too much versus playing basketball, came back to bite us a little bit."
On why the "shots fired" drama is in the spotlight:
"I think it's a focal point because it gets taken out of context a lot. We're not going to sit here and say we're perfect. Every locker room has their problems and issues, but at the same time, ours isn't to the point where it should have been brought out to the media and to the point where it's taken out of context the way it was. We all like each other, if nobody liked each other, nobody would be on the team. Somebody would be traded or gone or something like that. That didn't happen, that wasn't the case. At the end of the day, we're still teammates. That doesn't mean we have to be the best of friends, but we got to make it work on the floor for the benefit of the team and get the job done. I feel like a lot of it was taken out of context and we talked about it as grown men to make sure that those outside things don't interrupt what we got inside."
On most memorable trash talk experience:
"Probably Paul Pierce when he was with Brooklyn. I think that was my second or third year in the league, he basically told me I sucked, and he didn't understand how I was the third pick and he was talking from the bench and I told him, why don't you just come out here and guard me. And I think like a posession or two later, I dunked on him and the year after that he was on my team."
On giving back to those less fortunate:
"I went to the Children's Hospital on Thursday. It was unbelievable. That hits home with me. That's one of my favorite community service events to do. Just interact with the kids, put smiles on their faces, it really puts your life in perspective. Makes your appreciative of everything you have, the things that you go through, aren't that bad. You have kids, of all ages, who receive bad news on a daily basis about their life and we sometimes complain about little stuff. It really puts things in perspective for you."
On Black History Month:
"I know I wouldn't be here without it. Like I heard before, Black History is American History, I always feel like it's all together. In a sense, it alters my story, but also at the same time, I'm living my life and I wouldn't be able to do it without the pioneers before me. So, I definitely pay homage to them and am respectful about it and appreciative of it because I know I wouldn't be where I am today without those guys before me. The guys that played, the people who were in the Civil Rights Movement, and even before then so I definitely credit them."
On LeBron James and Laura Ingraham:
"I didn't necessarily hear the whole thing, but I definitely heard 'shut up and dribble.' That's a tough one because at the end of the day, LeBron is a very powerful man. Like he has a huge voice, people respect what he has to say. I feel like there was a better way for her to handle that then telling someone to shut up and dribble because he probably has a greater impact than she does. At the end of the day, I feel like he is speaking not only for himself but for people around the world and he's speaking through straight experience and experience that I'm sure she probably hasn't dealt with either. ... I don't think she said was right, for sure."
On NBA players being spokesmen:
"We're citizens and human beings just like everybody else. Just because our job title and careers are totally different, our paychecks are totally different, that doesn't disregard the fact that we still deal with adversity and stressful times and certain bad situations on a daily basis just like everybody else."