When the Washington Wizards selected Bradley Beal with the third overall pick in the 2012 draft, it was said that the team had the potential to have the best backcourt in the NBA.
But they’ve been anything but.
Beal has struggled to stay healthy, playing in 55 games last season, and failing to play in more than 73 during any of the first four years of his career so far. Yet for some reason, the Wizards rewarded him with a max deal back in July.
The chemistry in the backcourt needs to improve if the team wants to take the next step and make a run in the playoffs, and John Wall acknowledged that in an interview with CSN’s Chris Miller.
“I think a lot of times we have a tendency to dislike each other on the court. … We got to be able to put that to the side,” he said. “If you miss somebody on one play or don’t have something go right … as long as you come to each other and talk. If I starting arguing with somebody I’m cool. I’m just playing basketball.”
Wall then went on to say that he and Beal need to play off each other, citing that the “other two superstars” in the league do this well. We can assume this was a reference to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
“If we were playing well as a tandem like the other two superstars that play together as a backcourt, play as a tandem, one night it’s going to be his night, one night it’s going to be mine, some nights it might be both of us,” he said. “Those are nights it’s going to be tough to beat us.”
Wall received a max extension back in 2013, and Beal signed a max deal last month. It’s now up to them to show the organization that they’re worth the money.
