What current Washington Wizards have playoff experience?
By Keith Cork
2. Bradley Beal
26-year-old Bradley Beal has an inordinate amount of playoff experience thanks in large part to partnering with back court running mate John Wall. In his eighth season, Beal is putting up career numbers and may singlehandedly be the biggest reason the Washington Wizards do or don’t make the playoffs.
If he does make it to the playoffs, he’ll look to improve on his playoff averages of 22.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per contest. All while also draining 2.4 threes on 36.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
He’s one of only 19 players to put up such stats in the playoffs in their first seven seasons of play in the league, joining names like Gilbert Arenas, Dwyane Wade, Stephen Curry, Paul George, James Harden, and Reggie Miller. The kid’s a stud, folks, and he doesn’t shy away from the big stage.
He’s appeared in 40 postseason tilts, all in a Washington Wizards uniform, and he’s ready for more. Are we?
Let’s hope so because he can really be a shooting guard on a championship level team, and some more playoff experience couldn’t possibly do him harm.
It’s hard to judge which season was the “best” of his postseason career, but in terms of win shares it was his first season 2013-14, when he put up 19.2 points, 5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 41.5 percent from beyond the arc in 11 games.
The key to his value here was both his efficiency and his assist total, which was his second most in playoff experiences. But these two numbers speak volumes to Beal’s value in being a weapon, but not the focus of the other team’s defense. He needs pieces around him to really produce at his maximum level.