Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal is having a special season, but his snub from the all-star game could be historic if he makes the All-NBA team.
The Washington Wizards are bad this season, there’s no doubt whatsoever about it. Even if they make the playoffs, they have tons of holes on the roster and without their best and most proven player they look lost in a lost season.
Tommy Sheppard has done a good job reloading this roster with younger talent that could very well become a great team to surround their one-of-a-kind point guard, so there’s kudos to give there to be sure. But there’s really only one star of the show right now, and that’s Bradley Beal.
Beal is having a historic season, breaking a 58-year record Washington Wizards franchise record with 18 straight games of 25 points or more. He just edged Wizards great Walt Bellamy for that honor last night.
Plus, he’s had back-to-back 50 point nights, is averaging the most assists in his career, and is second in the entire league in points per game.
And this is a guy who was snubbed from the all-star game? GTHO of here.
What makes matters worse is that Beal is a likely candidate to be named to the NBA’s All-NBA team, which is just absurd in terms of his team’s record despite his personal success and his all-star snub. But if he keeps up his current pace, he’s a shoo in for that honor.
Even The Ringer’s Bill Simmons picked Beal for All-NBA back in December on The Lowe Post. And Quinton Mayo, host of Wizards Outsiders, has some pretty strong opinions on the matter:
If Bradley Beal doesn't make an All-NBA team this year it'll be the biggest snub in the history of the National Basketball Association.
— Quinton Mayo (@RealQuintonMayo) March 2, 2020
If Beal does make the All-NBA squad, it would put him in a truly special group of players who didn’t make the all-star game but received that honor at the end of the season. It’s happened eleven different times among nine players in the last ten years. Here’s the list:
1. Andrew Bogut 2009-10 season
2. Zach Randolph 2010-11 season
3. LaMarcus Aldridge 2010-11 season
4. Tyson Chandler 2011-12 season
5. Marc Gasol 2012-13 season
6. Al Jefferson 2013-14 season
7. Damian Lillard 2015-16 season
8. DeAndre Jordan 2014-15 season and 2015-16 season
9. Rudy Gobert 2016-17 season and 2018-19 season
That list includes seven Third Team selections, three Second Team selections, and just one First Team selection. Rudy Gobert also won Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, which is absolutely ridiculous. I’m glad he finally made an all-star game and got that experience this year, he really deserved it.
So if Beal is named Second Team or higher, he’d be joining just four other players in the past ten years, and there’s good odds that will happen. His all-star snub seems to be getting more and more ridiculous by the day, but if we know Bradley Beal we know he’ll continue to prove his doubters wrong. And make the Washington Wizards and its fans proud in the process.