The Washington Wizards have had an interesting season, but despite a rocky start and some locker room friction at times they’ve settled into the fourth seed in the East, nipping at the heels of the Cavs for the third spot.
Washington is led by its All-Star backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal, but with Wall sidelined due to knee surgery, the pressure falls on the sixth year guard out of Florida. Beal has answered that call this year, averaging 23.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game to earn his first All-Star nod (although some felt he should have been in the game last year). Beal had an active All-Star Weekend, playing in the game for Team LeBron and scoring 14 points in their comeback win, while also participating in the JBL Three-Point Contest on Saturday night, which did not go nearly as well as the game itself for Beal.
On Sunday afternoon, we sat down with Beal at the Mtn Dew Kickstart Courtside Studios to discuss his first experience at All-Star Weekend as an All-Star, his growth as a player and leader, the toughest part of making the jump from “good player” to “All-Star,” what was wrong with the Wizards at the start of the season, the challenges of keeping his five dogs happy and spaghetti sandwiches.
But first, we had to find out what went wrong in the Three-Point Contest.
So what happened last night [in the Three-Point Contest]?
Man, I was a little tired. A little overwhelmed from all the appearances and I had no legs. Then I had to go sixth, so I was a little cold they iced me out a little bit.
Is that the toughest part? Sitting around waiting.
Oh man, that’s the hardest thing, because they give you time to warm up. It’s kind of pointless, because then you just sit down and stuff. And I was after the [commercial] break, right. So it was even tougher. I think everybody after the break, maybe besides Klay, did bad.
Yeah. It seemed a little tough for that second group. But finally being an All-Star, finally getting that nod, especially after last year when you felt you should have been there, what was it like when you got the call? And what’s the experience like here as an All-Star rather than just coming in as a Saturday night participant?
It’s just surreal. It’s crazy to think about. It’s definitely been a goal and a dream of mine. So I’m definitely happy. It probably still hasn’t hit me yet. It probably will tonight for sure on the stage, but it’s definitely a dream come true. I’m excited to be a part of this great, elite group of guys. And I’m enjoying it all. The media and everything. Appearances are kind of crazy and overwhelming. But, it finally stamped me as one.
Is there a guy that you’re most excited to get to team up with in the All-Star game? That when you saw the rosters you were like “This will be a guy that’ll be fun to play with?”
You know what? Everybody, because I have a really good team, right?
Yeah. Well it’s kind of hard not to.
I got a really good team, so it’s kind of tough. I have LeBron, I have KD, I got Paul George, I got Kyrie.
You’ve got a squad.
Yeah, I got a squad, right? I’m gonna enjoy every moment of it. I have a really good team. And LeBron’s a cool guy, so I’m happy I got picked by him. For the most part, everybody. Because everybody deserves it. Everybody deserves to be one, so I’m thrilled and excited to be here.
What’s the thing that you feel like since you came into the league to now that you’re most proud of? That you’ve improved either on the court, off the court, whatever it is, that you think has taken you to this level to be an All-Star?
My leadership and my ball handling skills. I feel like when I just came into the league, I was just known as a shooter. Catch and shoot guy. And I didn’t want to just have that label behind me. I wanted to continue to evolve my game and get better. So it’s just a matter of just putting the time and the effort in, and the work in, and it’s paying off as I continue to get older.
John and I were given the leadership roles on the team. So for me it was constantly maturing, learning from my vets before me, and trying to lead my team as best as I can.
You do have a young core, with you and Wall, and then Kelly [Oubre Jr.] and Otto [Porter Jr.]. It’s a young core. What are things that you’re learning now that you’re kind of a vet on this team, and what are the things that you’re trying to impart to Kelly and Otto about the process as they look to take that next step into starring themselves?
That’s exactly right. It’s a process. It’s not gonna be perfect. It’s not gonna be … It’s not just my way or no way. I’m always learning, still to this day. Otto and Kelly have just as much right to speak out, and chew me out sometimes, just as well as I do to them. Like you said, we’re real young, so I think it meshes really well. We don’t have to worry about stepping on each other’s toes or anything like that. It’s just, I think it’s pretty picture perfect almost in a sense. But at the same, we’re learning on the fly.
I talked to some of the Sixers guys about this. They have a similar situation with a young squad, and it seems to be … You mentioned everybody kind of has that voice. It’s not like there’s a LeBron who lords over everything, and everybody follows.
Right.
Do you feel that’s kind of what you have to do on a younger team? When there is maybe a lack of the top, top star that everybody knows has been there? You don’t have, necessarily, a LeBron, but you’re all young stars. Is that what you have to have is that ability for everybody to feel like they have that voice?
I think so, because I think it keeps everybody grounded. It keeps everybody comfortable. John and I, we do the majority of the talking. But we’re open to anybody having a voice, and everybody having an opinion, and everybody chipping in in any way in which they feel like they need to. So, we don’t hold back, and I definitely feel like it helps our camaraderie a lot because we’re a young team. And you don’t wanna have a guy who just thinks he’s a lot better than everybody else. So we just keep it real, even keel in the locker room. And it’s been great so far.
When you start seeing yourself moving up the ladder in the league, what’s the toughest thing of going from being a good player to that All-Star level? What’s … There are steps that you have to take.
Yeah.
That seems like a really big jump that’s hard for a lot of guys to make. What is it you have to learn?
It is tough, but I feel like consistency is the biggest thing. Being consistent on regular basis. Making sure that you’re putting up your numbers. Making sure that you’re getting wins. I feel like wins and those two, they go hand-in-hand. You’re always in the spot-light. You’re always … Everybody’s like “Okay, is he going to make that jump?” And like you said, it’s not an easy one to make. It’s all about, did he get better? Did he add something to his game? Is he winning? Is his team winning? Is he making the guys around him better?
So it’s a lot of things that factor into it, and I’m happy to be a part of it now. But I still have a long way to go, too.
What did you guys as a team have to learn early this season? There were some … And you mentioned consistency. There was an inconsistent run.
Yeah.
What did you guys have to learn? Did you feel like you came in, maybe complacent a little bit since you had the same group back?
It was a little bit of all of that. I feel like we were complacent, we were a little bit too cocky. At the same time, we were doing a lot of chit-chatting. Not just hooping anymore. So it kind of came back and bit us in a way. But we learned from it. Early in the season we had a few injuries here and there. John was out earlier in the year. He’s out now. I think Kieff was out the first couple weeks of the year. We have some guys out now, but hopefully they’re healthy when we back.
It’s been a rocky start. It definitely wasn’t the start that we wanted it to be, but given our record right now, it’s not bad. We just gotta take advantage of our schedule. We know it gets tougher after the break. We’re definitely gonna our hands full, especially without John being there. I think it’s a challenge that’s gonna help us for the playoffs this year.
What’s the biggest challenge of owning five dogs?
Oh man. Who gets the most love. The dogs … They all want attention. They all wanna be rubbed. You start rubbing one, four of them come bum rush you, and get mad at you rubbing him. And then once you stop, they do a little head thing [tilts head to the side].
And they want to be pet again. They’re all house-trained, which is good. They don’t go to the bathroom in the house. At least I think I feel like that’s [pats chest]. That’s me. I take pride in that one. They’re just cool, except they just go through a lot of food. Especially the big ones.
It’s kind of a metaphor for basketball. You gotta keep everybody happy. You should give everybody … Move the ball around. That ball’s gotta move around.
Exactly, they gotta share the wealth. Gotta share the wealth for sure.
If you could have a pet, not a dog, what would be your dream pet? Exotic animal? Something like that?
[Long pause] Either a panda or a cheetah.
Yeah, you’ve got the whole panda thing.
Panda. I feel I could just put him outside with some bamboo. He’s chilling. Won’t bother nobody.
What’s a necessity you have to have on the road with you that’s not shoes, clothes, like the normal stuff? What’s something that you bring on the road with you that you just have to have?
My headphones. I have to have headphones. I love music. Love listening to music. Before every game, just sitting in a room. I feel like my music I have to have.
I see you got the Off-Whites on. The Vapor Max’s. What’s been your favorite sneaker drop of the last year?
You know what? The whole Off-White collection is crazy. It’s really crazy. And I’m a Nike guy, so I’m a little biased. I found all the Off-Whites, because I got the … I’m a big Air Force One guy. So the low-top Forces. I always have to keep a pair of all white ones. Always. These are actually really comfortable. VaporMax are really comfortable. But I found all the Off-White ones. I got the Jordan 1s. All the Air Maxes.
Have you been able to get the icy blue 1s? The Off-White … The Euro only release? Have you been able to snag those yet?
No.
Are you…
I’ll get them. I’m gonna work my connections. I’m a get ’em.
Got to. Last thing I got for you is, can you cook?
A little bit. Yeah.
Who’d you learn from?
My dad. My dad cooks a lot.
If you’ve got to make something, somebody’s coming over for dinner, what’s the go-to dish that you’re making?
Spaghetti. Spaghetti all the way. And you better have a sweet tooth because I put a little sugar in my spaghetti.
Okay. Have you ever tried the Terry Rozier spaghetti sandwich?
No. No.
No? That’s too much sugar in spaghetti?
Sandwich? I don’t know.
He puts just regular white bread, spaghetti, and dumps sugar on it.
That probably won’t be bad.
Really? Okay.
That probably won’t be bad. I can see where he going with that.
You can see the vision.
Yeah.
[Note: I forgot about the ranch part of the Rozier sandwich, which could change Beal’s feelings on it]
