{"id":31228,"date":"2020-06-12T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T12:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=31228"},"modified":"2020-06-06T16:58:48","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T20:58:48","slug":"last-word-on-pro-basketballs-top-30-nba-players-bradley-beal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2020\/06\/12\/last-word-on-pro-basketballs-top-30-nba-players-bradley-beal\/","title":{"rendered":"Last Word on Pro Basketball&#8217;s Top 30 NBA Players: Bradley Beal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Although ranking the top 30 NBA players in today\u2019s game is an incredibly difficult task, The Last Word on Pro Basketball staff has taken it on. Debuting at number 19 in the countdown in <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/nba-teams\/washington-wizards\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Washington Wizards<\/a>&#8216; guard <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bealbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bradley Beal<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Top 30 NBA Players<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Number 19 &#8211; Bradley Beal<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Throughout the entirety of Beal&#8217;s NBA career, he has performed at a relatively high level. It wasn&#8217;t until <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/walljo01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Wall<\/a><\/strong>&#8216;s career-altering injury however until he truly evolved into one of the NBA&#8217;s top players. This season is no different as Beal has become the centerpiece and face of the franchise for the Washington Wizards. His stellar play has managed to keep the team competitive despite the lack of talent around him. Beal has compiled an impressive stat line and has placed himself in the conversation for making one of the All-NBA teams.<\/p>\n<p>Beal is averaging 30.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game on the season and was named to his second consecutive All-Star team in his career.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Strengths<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>For a player of Beal&#8217;s size, he possesses elite athleticism which makes him a versatile scorer and playmaker for the Wizards. His top-notch speed and agility help him drive past defenders and finish with a wide array of post moves. He makes up for his slightly smaller frame with proper technique, incredible focus, and physicality.<\/p>\n<p>On offense, Beal can score from just about anywhere. He averages a respectable 38 percent from beyond the arc over the course of his career. Beal exemplifies what it means to be a dead-eye shooter in today&#8217;s NBA. Whether it&#8217;s pulling up off the dribble or finishing in the catch and shoot game, Beal will get the job done. He may excel as a scorer, but Beal is not a one-trick pony. He is currently averaging over six assists per game on the season and also possesses top-notch ball-handling ability.<\/p>\n<p>One of the things Beal does best is taking over games for his team. This has been quite evident this season as he managed to drop 50+ points in back to back games as well as a handful of 40+ point games. The lack of success within the Wizards organization has caused Beal to become underrated by many in the league. He uses this as motivation and plays with a chip on his shoulder every night.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Weaknesses<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Offensively there is hardly anything to criticize about Beal&#8217;s game. He is an elite scorer which shows in his stats. The one problem is that Beal&#8217;s scoring doesn&#8217;t always translate into wins as the Wizards are near the bottom of the league. While a lot of this can be attributed to the talent around him, true stars find a way to get it done.<\/p>\n<p>Beal&#8217;s defensive play is a much different story compared to the rest of his game. His smaller frame gives larger guards an advantage which they often capitalize on. Beal was recently graded as one of the worst players defensively in all the NBA. He leaves opponents open on too many occasions which can occasionally make him a liability for his team. Beal is an elite player, but unlike many other players on this list, he is not a two-way player.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Bradley Beal Career Accolades<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>While he has been a main contributor for the Wizards throughout his career, he really only came into his own a few seasons ago. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team but struggled to break out over the next few years.\u00a0 After the injury to Wall, Beal&#8217;s career began to take off. Since then he has been named to two All-Star teams and has solidified himself as an NBA superstar.<\/p>\n<p>He has a very strong case to be selected for one of the All-NBA teams at the conclusion of the season. If it was just based on offense he would be a lock, but his defensive play may hinder his chances.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Last Word on Pro Basketball Top 30 NBA Players Ballots<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We believe in full transparency in the top 30 NBA player rankings so we are going to disclose the ballots of our player rankings and where each contributor had each player ranked.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/tylermarling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Marling<\/a> \u2013 Site Manager \u2013 17<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/chasegage\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chase Gage<\/a> \u2013 Managing Editor \u2013 23<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/david-knight\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Knight<\/a> \u2013 Marketing Manager \u2013 18<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/zachkircher\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zack Kircher<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 17<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/matthewwaldman\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matthew Waldman<\/a> \u2013 Associate Editor \u2013 NR<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/davidjackson2018\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Ward<\/a> \u2013 Author \u2013 15<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/avinashchauhan\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Avinash Chauhan<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 23<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/adamzigner\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Zigner<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 18<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/albertdadson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Albert Dadson<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 17<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/thomasguest\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dylan Guest<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 18<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/raheemb\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Raheem Bashir<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 21<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/natelavine\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nathan Levine<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 25<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/author\/billhuan\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Huan<\/a> \u2013 Contributor \u2013 18<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"IUHAqzf9Qq9GKnToIXoBhA\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1084013140\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'IUHAqzf9Qq9GKnToIXoBhA',sig:'zRdvP0a7WBSr7xMto9WfipN8I3H9RW8eotvKSieehcg=',w:'594px',h:'404px',items:'1084013140',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Although ranking the top 30 NBA players in today\u2019s game is an incredibly difficult task, The Last Word on Pro Basketball staff has taken it on. Debuting at number 19 in the countdown in Washington Wizards&#8216; guard Bradley Beal. Top 30 NBA Players Number 19 &#8211; Bradley Beal Throughout the entirety of Beal&#8217;s NBA career, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2682,"featured_media":31330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,18],"tags":[311,310,3692,3689,309],"class_list":["post-31228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-wizards","tag-bradley-beal","tag-john-wall","tag-last-word-on-pro-basketballs-top-30-nba-players","tag-top-30-nba-players","tag-washington-wizards"],"modified_by":"Matthew Waldman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2682"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}