Washington Wizards: Bradley Beal passes another impressive milestone

Known for his scoring, Bradley Beal has a place in the Washington Wizards record books as an elite playmaker.

Add another line to Bradley Beal‘s resume. The all-star guard has now done something that few others have ever done in franchise history.

Beal’s night against the short-handed Detroit Pistons was one of his most impressive in a while: 35 points (5-9 3PT), 10 assists, and three rebounds as the Wizards held on for a much-needed win on the road.  With his 10th assist, Beal became just the seventh player in franchise history to record 2,000 assists in a Wizards/Bullets uniform.

Trailing Gilbert Arenas by just 46 assists, Beal has a real chance to be the franchise’s sixth-leading assister by season’s end. When the Wizards drafted Beal eight seasons ago, few thought he’d make his mark as a playmaker. And to be fair, Beal’s strength is still scoring. The man is a walking bucket, currently fourth in the NBA in points per game. But with John Wall missing huge chunks of time for each of the past three seasons, Beal has been forced to step into a facilitating role as the offense moves through him.

It’s hard to argue with the results. Each year with Wall on the sidelines, Beal gets better as the Wizards’ de facto point guard. In the past three seasons, Beal’s usage rate and assists per game average have exploded. During the 2016-17 season, Beal was averaging just 3.5 assists with a 26.5 usage rate. Now, he’s dishing out twice as many dimes per game and his usage rate is up to a whopping 31.5

Beal isn’t only climbing up the list of assist leaders, though. Earlier this season, he became just the fourth player in franchise history to pass the 10,000 point plateau. He currently trails Wes Unseld by less than 250 points for the third spot all-time.

Beal’s no stranger to making franchise history. He’s made more three-pointers in a season than anyone else in franchise history…twice. Last year, Beal became the first player in franchise history to average 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. This season, he’s on his way to a repeat performance, averaging 27.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game.

Beal’s solidifying himself as one of the best players in franchise history and it doesn’t look like anybody in the NBA can really stop him. Slow him down, sure? But Beal’s going to get his. Let’s enjoy the show.