On the verge of his second consecutive NBA All-Star appearance, Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal has established himself as one of the best shooting guards in the league.
But as a kid coming up in the Houston AAU circuit, Beal was merely known for a single facet of his game.
“That’s how everyone knew me,” Beal said. “It was ‘Shooter, shooter, shooter!’ everywhere I went. ‘Shooter! Shooter!’ My name became Shooter. I would just run from 3-point line to 3-point line. That’s all I was doing.”
Beal started to develop more of an all-around game in his senior year of high school, but he seemed to be relegated to a marksman role once again at the University of Florida and in his first few years in Washington.
But in his last three seasons, Beal has averaged at least 20 points, three boards and three assists while also shouldering the franchise through a litany of John Wall injuries.
The 6'5″ guard is averaging career highs in scoring (25.1), rebounds (5.1) and assists (5.4) this year.
Beal is one of seven players in the league this season with a 25-5-5 line. If he were to finish the year with these averages, he would be the first player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
This season is all the more notable because it is actually the worst for Beal in terms of three-point percentage (34.9), though he is still shooting 47.2 percent from the field.
Clearly, Beal has blossomed into a more complete player. His performance this year in Wall's absence bring about questions about what the Wizards will look to do with the tandem in the future.
Wall is under contract until 2023 but will also miss at least the first half of next year with an achilles injury. Beal will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2020-21 season.
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