Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is undoubtedly one of the best shooting guards in the league. He’s coming off his best individual season, and had an argument to make the All-Star game as a replacement. As he’s not the number one star, where does he rank among NBA sidekicks?
If I say Washington Wizards, who is the first person that comes to mind?
The answer would overwhelmingly be John Wall… Wall is the face of the franchise, the head honcho, the engine, the best player – of course, you think of John Wall. But if we learned anything this season, he can’t take the Wizards to the Promised Land alone. He needs help.
That’s where Bradley Beal – the sidekick – comes in.
Sidekicks are players, generally under-appreciated, who are second options on a particular team. Though Beal carries the team when Wall struggles, like in Game 7 against Boston, Beal receives no love.
He’s not the only one. Jordan and Pippen. Shaq and Penny. Shaq and Kobe. No love for the sides.
Kobe was promoted from his sidekick status, by kicking Shaq out, so he eventually got love. But how many times do you hear “Scottie was nothing without MJ”?
Scottie Pippen is a Hall-of-Famer, who had eight straight All-Defensive First Team appearances and his No. 33 jersey retired by the Bulls, but he was never the No. 1 guy on his team. Because of this, he never received No. 1 love.
This top-10 is for current NBA players who bring home the bacon, but only get to eat what’s leftover: The sidekicks.