Bradley Beal recently made an appearance on the Run Your Race podcast. The 31-year-old discussed several topics with Theo Pinson and AJ Richardson but one of the biggest revelations was when he talked about his rookie year. The Washington Wizards drafted Beal as their third overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Coming from the University of Florida, he was one of the best players in the country.
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Beal had a different outlook toward the game through his experience of playing for Chaminade in high school and for Florida in college. However, when he made it into the league, he saw that winning games didn’t have the same meaning there, and losing wasn’t as bad a habit as he thought it would be.
The three-time All-Star recalled his team’s 7-28 record at the beginning of the season. That was shocking for Beal, as he was in it to win games for his franchise. To his surprise, his teammates and people around him weren’t as bothered by the losses. Beal believes that being around that energy where losing is normalized can derail any youngster’s ambitions.
He said, “I’m observing, I’m looking around the locker room and seeing like ‘Is anybody else mad? I’m almost in tears, is anybody else mad?’ Man, no. When is the 1st and 15th? When you get that energy early on, that would mess with young kids because…you become used to it. You’re walking into the building ready to lose.”
In his rookie year, the Wizards finished their regular season with 29 wins in 82 games. Unfortunately, Beal couldn’t do much at the time as he was just a rookie. Beal came into the league to win and it shows in his commitment. Despite receiving such a poor response to losing games from his teammates, he stayed in Washington for over a decade.
This speaks to his dedication to changing the culture in the locker room. He never wavered when it came to wanting more success to come out of the franchise that drafted him. Getting acclimatized to being a lottery team year in, year out wasn’t on the docket for Bradley Beal, especially with a running mate as transcendental as John Wall.
The Wizards made five postseason runs during Beal’s time with the team. After making his debut in 2012, he played for the Wizards till 2023. Beal made three All-Star appearances in 2018, 2019, and 2021. In June 2023, he was traded by the Wizards to the Phoenix Suns.
