Washington Wizards: 4 stats that show just how crazy Bradley Beal’s first half was

Just how good has Bradley Beal been for the Washington Wizards this season? Better than you realized, probably.

There haven’t been many bright spots during this NBA season for the Washington Wizards, but there has been Bradley Beal. After seasons of trade speculation surrounding the Wizards’ All-Star shooting guard, the Wizards have stuck to their guns and stuck with Beal over the years. During a rough 4-12 start, the trade rumors and calls from fans to blow it all up may have never been louder. But every night, Beal rewards this franchise for their loyalty by putting up sensational stat line after sensational stat line. The Wizards may have known the best was always yet to come from Bradley Beal but did anyone have him becoming this type of an unstoppable scoring machine?

The Wizards may not be a winning team yet, but that’s not Bradley Beal’s fault. He’s on a level that we rarely see. Maybe all the losses have blinded you from realizing just how good Beal was through the first half of the season. So I’m here to remind you.

These days, a Beal trade feels as unlikely as ever, and for good reason. When you have a player of this caliber on your roster, you do everything you can to keep him here, especially when he wants to be here.

Here are four stats that show just how excellent Bradley Beal was during the first half of the season.

Bradley Beal leads the NBA with 22 games of at least 30 points

30-point games have become “normal” for Bradley Beal. And that’s not normal. Scoring totals that would be season or even career highs for most are just another night in the office for Beal.

At the All-Star break, Beal led the NBA with 22 games of at least 30 points despite the Wizards playing fewer games than everyone but the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies. At this pace, Beal will finish the season with 47 games of at least 30 points. If the NBA were playing a full 82-game season, he would be on pace for 53 such games.

Not only would that shatter Beal’s own record for 30-point games in a season (31 during the 19-20 season), but 47 30-point games would be more than any other Wizards player. Gilbert Arenas currently holds that title with 42 games of at least 30 points during the 2005-06 season. And even in a shortened season, Beal could finish with the most 30-point games in franchise history this season.

Beal didn’t hit the 30-point plateau in the team’s first post-All-Star break game, a 127-112 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. But if he can cross that scoring threshold 29 more times in the final 37 games, he’ll tie the record Walt Bellamy set in 1962 when he finished with 51 30-pointers.

Bradley Beal has three of the top 15 scoring performances in the NBA this season.

Stephen Curry has put on two of the top three highest-scoring performances this season (62 points and 57 points), and Nikola Jokic has also had a pair of high-scoring games (50 points and 47 points). But of the top-15 scoring performances this season, no player appears on the list more than twice besides Bradley Beal. The Wizards’ All-Star pops up thrice — 60 points, 47 points, 46 points. Do not be surprised if he adds another top-ten single-game total before the season ends, either.

Unfortunately, all three of Bradley Beal’s most sensational performances this season have ended in losses for the Wizards. The Wizards have lost 11 straight games in which Beal scores at least 40 points. It’s an NBA record, and hopefully, one that ends soon. What’s really odd, though, is who trails Beal in this unfortunate distinction.

Before Beal, Walt Bellamy held the record for the longest such streak. He scored 40 or more points in a loss nine times during the 1961-62 season while playing for the Chicago Packers. By 1963, the Packers changed cities and changed their name to the Baltimore Bullets. By 1997, they became the Washington Wizards. Time is a flat circle.

Bradley Beal currently has the seventh-highest points per game average since 1990.

Bradley Beal currently leads the NBA in scoring by a healthy amount in total points and points per game. More times than not, over the last 30 years, his current scoring average (32.5 ppg) would lead the league. Beal is currently on the seventh-highest scoring individual campaign since 1990. Here’s how he stacks up…

• James Harden (18-19): 36.1 ppg
• Kobe Bryant (05-06): 35.4 ppg
• James Harden (19-20): 34.3 ppg
• Michael Jordan (89-90): 33.6 ppg
• Allen Iverson (05-06): 33.0 ppg
• Michael Jordan (92-93): 32.6 ppg
• Bradley Beal (20-21): 32.5 ppg

Now, all the guys listed above Beal kept their scoring pace up for a full season. With 37 games left, Beal could drop off, but he could also rise in the rankings pretty easily. Before the Wizards returned from the All-Star break and lost to the Grizzlies, Beal ranked sixth on this list of historic scoring champs.

Oddly enough, none of the players listed above Beal won the MVP award during their season of dominance. Given the Wizards’ record (14-21) and place in the standings (12th), it’s unlikely that Beal bucks that trend. However, he should be a shoo-in for All-NBA, an honor Beal has never been awarded.

Bradley Beal is doing something we have not seen since Michael Jordan’s playing days.

Not only is Bradley Beal putting up unparalleled numbers this year. He’s doing it while shooting fairly efficiently from the field. Through the first 34 games of the season, Beal was averaging 32.9 points while shooting 42.8 percent from the field. The last person to average those numbers for a full season was Michael Jordan in 1992-93.

Beal’s numbers have taken a slight hit since returning to action after the All-Star break. His points per game average has “dipped” to 32.5, and he’s shooting 47.6 percent from the floor. Virtually the same numbers, and if we’re rounding up, he’s still hanging with MJ. But technically, he’s dipped.

Beal is currently having one of his most efficient seasons from the floor. 47.6 percent shooting is the second-best mark of Beal’s career. His true shooting percentage this season (59.1) is also the second-best mark of his career. But if there’s anywhere Beal can improve, it’s from beyond the arc.

Although Beal came into the NBA primarily as a sharpshooter, he’s having his worst three-point shooting season during his most prolific scoring season. It’s part of a slightly concerning trend, as each of Beal’s four-worst three-point shooting seasons have been during the past four seasons.

This season, Beal is shooting a lowly 32.8 percent from three. It’s hard to fault Beal for anything on the offensive end given just how incredible he’s been at literally everything else. But if he could figure things out from three, imagine how many more nightmares he’d give defenses.