The Washington Wizards are said to have one of the best backcourts in the NBA. But John Wall and Bradley Beal don’t have a great relationship on the court.
Wall, via J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic:
“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. 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 said in a sitdown interview with CSN’s Chris Miller that airs tonight, Wizards Central: Offseason Grind, at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Beal, via Michael:
“It’s tough because we’re both alphas. It’s always tough when you have two guys who firmly believe in themselves, who will bet on themselves against anybody else, who want to be that guy. We both can be that guy,” Beal said.
“Sometimes I think we both lose sight of the fact that we need each other. I wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in without John. John wouldn’t be in the situation he’s in without me, without the rest of the team. It goes hand-in-hand so it’s kind of a pride thing. We got to (hash) out our pride, figure out what our goals are individually, help each other achieve those goals, figure out what our team goal is, where do we see ourselves five years from now, 10 years from now and go from there.”
The duo has been together for four years now. That they dislike each other on the court is a little disturbing, but the Wizards wouldn’t have locked up Beal for five more years if they didn’t think it could work with Wall, who has three years left on his contract.
If they were good when they disliked each other, imagine how much better they’d be if they actually got along. We’ll see if the relationship improves next season under new head coach Scott Brooks.
