Wizards that Didn’t Live up to their 2021-22 Salaries

Wizards that Didn’t Live up to their Salary: Bradley Beal

• Bradley Beal – $33,724,200

Whether fair or not, injuries play a part in determining whether a player lived up to their compensation in any given year. Bradley Beal saw his season cut short after playing in 40 games, but his play leading up to his season-ending surgery wasn’t on pace to live up to his hefty salary.

Beal, the face of the franchise, led the team to a record of 17-23 when he took the court. His production dipped in a number of categories from the previous few seasons and he didn’t meet expectations in terms of being the leader of the team.

After averaging over 30 points per game in each of the previous two seasons coming into 2021-22, Beal saw his scoring drop to 23.2 points per game. A key reason for his scoring regression was his lack of efficiency from the perimeter. Beal connected on just 30 percent of his 3PT attempts, marking a new career low.

With the seemingly never-ending questions regarding his future with the franchise, Beal and the Wizards are at a pivotal moment in their relationship this offseason. It’s far from ideal that his season was cut short and, more importantly, that he left so much to be desired when he was on the court.

An even larger financial commitment to Beal might be on the horizon, and it’s fair for fans to ask what the team’s ceiling is with him earning such a large percentage of the team’s cap. The future is yet to be determined, but in 2021-22, Beal didn’t live up to his salary.