The Washington Wizards will be entering their off season in less than 3 weeks. Washington is currently the 12th seed in the Eastern Conference and trail the Atlanta Hawks (10th seed) by 7 games. There are only 6 games remaining in the regular season. As Washington enters the off season, the focus will now shift over to the supermax situation with Bradley Beal.
Is Bradley Beal a super max player? That is a question that has been brought up a number of times over the past couple months. With the tough season Beal had this year, the answer you will get from most fans would probably be a “no”. If you ask Wizards fans, most would probably say no as well.
If you were to ask me this question, my answer is kind of boring.
Individual Production
In terms of Beal’s individual production, I would say he is a supermax player. Outside of this season, where Beal saw his scoring average drop all the way to 23.2 points per game on 19.3 field goal attempts per game. The 19.3 attempts is the lowest for Beal since the 2018-2019 season, where Beal averaged 25.6 points per game. There were a lot things going on with the Wizards this season, which most likely contributed to decline we saw from Beal.
But from 2018-2021, Beal averaged 28.7 points per game on 47/35/84 shooting splits. This stretch also included back to back seasons where Beal averaged at least 30 points per game. As an individual player, when you average 25 points per game, you are a very dangerous offensive player. But when you average 30, you are pretty much impossible to guard. There is a reason why very players each season get to the 30 ppg mark. It’s a very difficult task to accomplish. Beal was able to accomplish this task in consecutive seasons. His efficiency was solid as well, as shown by his shooting splits during this stretch.
It’s not all about stats
It really isn’t just about numbers when it comes to giving a player the supermax extension. There are other factors a franchise has to consider. Such as leadership, impact on teammates, character, etc. These are things that only a franchise knows about their players. As a fan, I would like to think that I know a fair amount about Bradley Beal as a basketball player. But the reality is that I don’t.
Sure I can watch games/highlights and get a general idea of who Beal is as a player. But I’m not out there on the court with Beal as a teammate. I am not a front office employee or a member of the coaching staff who is around Beal on a regular basis. So there is no way I can really get a complete understanding of who Beal is as a player. Only his teammates and coaches have that complete understanding.
Which brings me to my next point.
Is Beal worth the Supermax?
As a fan on the outside looking in, it is not my place to say whether or not Beal is worth the supermax. All I know about Beal is the information that is passed down to me through the media. So I can’t say whether or not Beal is worth the supermax. But if Ted Leonsis, Tommy Sheppard, and the Wizards’ front office think he is, then I have to take their word for it.
They know more about Beal than I do. They know how he interacts with his teammates when the cameras aren’t around. How he prepares for games during the season. How communicates with the coaching staff. How he trains during the off season.
They have knowledge that I just don’t have.
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