Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards entered their Thursday night contest against the Utah Jazz on a high. After all, they just snapped their 10-game losing streak with a resounding win over the Phoenix Suns two nights ago. And it seemed as if Beal's state of euphoria carried over into his showing at Vivint Arena, with the holiday spirit in full display.
With 7:54 left in the fourth quarter and the Wizards down by 11, 105-94, Bradley Beal found himself on the charity stripe. The Wizards star drained the first with no problem to cut the deficit to 10. However, before his second free throw, he appeared distracted by Kyle Nielsen, a Jazz fan dressed as Buddy the Elf from the 2003 movie, “Elf”.
Just as he was getting into his shooting motion, Beal let out a huge smile as Nielsen vociferously waved towards the 29-year old shooting guard. It didn't matter, however, as Beal calmly sunk his second freebie.
Bradley Beal laughing when he sees Buddy The Elf pic.twitter.com/zcQUR3nPef
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) December 23, 2022
Nielsen has made it a habit to appear in Jazz games dressed in full elf costume every Christmas season. Thus, it's no surprise that he was in attendance for the Jazz' 120-112 victory over the Wizards.
The @utahjazz had a special guest last night at their first home game of the season!
(Photo by Associated Press/Rick Bowmer) pic.twitter.com/8OqptKjh8X
— FOX 13 News Utah (@fox13) December 28, 2020
Despite the loss, Bradley Beal, at the very least, found a reason to be joyful, perhaps out of respect and acknowledgement towards Nielsen's commitment to the bit. Still, it will have to sting for Beal, even for just a little, that the Wizards lost despite his 30-point night on an incredible 13-20 shooting from the field. There will be no doubt that Beal's greatest wish this holiday season is for the Wizards to turn their season around.
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