Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal was given a free pass to travel earlier this week. Now he's joking that it could come back to bite him hard:
Was talking with @RealDealBeal23 this morning for a long-range piece, but asked while I had him how he’s dealing with the referees’ civil war that he started in Detroit Monday. “I might get called for a travel 30 times tonight,” he joked.https://t.co/rpgHIaBbFd
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) February 13, 2019
Anyone who has seen the play knows it was a travel. It was one of the more obvious non-called travels you could think of. Even Beal himself has made it obvious he knows it was a travel.
The refs at the time didn't seem to think so, as they never made the call. More fuel was added to the fire when the NBA Referees Twitter account tried to explain why it wasn't called:
The offensive player gathers with his right foot on the ground. He then takes two legal steps, before losing control of the ball. After regaining possession, a player is allowed to regain his pivot foot and pass or shoot prior to that foot returning to the ground. This is legal. https://t.co/0hVqgHw3w7
— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) February 12, 2019
Weak excuse and one that was met with nothing but mockery from the fans.
This was even disputed by Monty McCutchen, the NBA VP of Referee Development and Training.
In the end, the non-travel didn't have much of an effect on the game. The Detroit Pistons still beat the Wizards 121-112, so no harm, no foul. Beal put up another strong stat line with 32 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds. He can thank the refs for only having one turnover on the day.
Flash forward to Wednesday, though, and the Wizards play their first game since the travel against the Toronto Raptors.
Beal has played along with the jokes, and he even added some of his own. First he tweeted “Look clean to me” in response to a tweet with the video. Now he's joking that he might get called for a travel “30 times.”
But be careful what you joke about! No, Beal won't be hit with 30 traveling calls. You can be sure that the refs at the game will be watching for any close calls, though. Maybe a questionable Eurostep or a step-back shot will be enough for them to blow their whistles and show they still do call travels.
Whatever happens, it's good to know Bradley Beal knows the absurdity of that call. Not only that, but he's able to joke along with the rest of us. Let's hope that doesn't come back to haunt him against the Toronto Raptors.