To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Washington Post photo by Katherine Frey Wizards guard Bradley Beal brings the ball up the floor against the Celtics at Capital One Arena in October.
The Washington Post/Ava Wallace
11:30 JST, July 1, 2022
WASHINGTON – Earlier this month, Bradley Beal celebrated the unveiling of a pair of basketball courts he helped pay to refurbish in Washington’s Columbia Heights neighborhood. His logo adorned the blacktop as did a quote attributed to him, painted in white along one baseline.
“Cement your legacy,” it read.
Beal took his own advice just minutes after free agency opened Thursday night. The Washington Wizards announced that the 29-year-old guard agreed to a maximum contract that will pay him $251 million over five years and cement him as the cornerstone of the franchise that drafted him third overall in 2012. The deal will be made official July 6 when the league moratorium ends.
The contract will pay Beal roughly $43 million in 2022-23 and includes annual raises of $3.4 million. In the final year of the deal, the guard stands to make $57.1 million at age 33.
Beal’s signing signals his commitment to the franchise and his approval of president and general manager Tommy Sheppard’s stewardship of the team. The guard has been clear for the past two years as questions about his future in Washington grew louder: He wants to win. Beal clearly believes in the Wizards enough to help them get there.
From the Wizards’ perspective, the deal reinforces their belief in the three-time All-Star as a worthy face of the franchise and puts a bow on the long arc of a takeover that began when point guard John Wall had season-ending surgery in December 2018.
Wall was traded two years later, and team owner Ted Leonsis handed Beal the reins.
Since then, Beal proved has himself as one of the most talented scorers in the NBA. When operating at the peak of his powers in 2020-21, he became just the sixth player since the NBA-ABA merger to average at least 30 points in back-to-back seasons (30.5 points per game in 2019-20 and 31.3 points in 2020-21), was voted an All-Star starter for the first time and was named to an all-NBA team for the first time.
His ability to get to the basket no matter who was on the floor with him or standing in his way made Beal one of the most sought-after players in the league. His low-key personality, which made it easy to imagine him fitting in alongside any number of the NBA’s megawatt stars, made him even more desirable.
But Beal maintained he wanted to remain loyal to the team that drafted him, help Leonsis build a winning organization and give back to the only city he has ever played in as a pro.
“It’s love that I’ve received from day one,” Beal said at the court unveiling. “The city has accepted me since [I was] a rookie, and here I am going into year 11 and it’s the same love, if not more. I’ve always just tried to pay that back in one way or another, community outreach, and that’s something I’ll always take pride in. Because that’s something that has a more lasting impact than basketball.”
His scoring average dipped last season, falling to 23.3. He shot 30% from beyond the arc, a career low, and 45.1% from the field, his worst since 2015-16, before surgery on his left wrist ended his season in early February.
None of it mattered; Beal and the Wizards’ mutual commitment held strong. The guard always has the option of demanding a trade in the future, and Sheppard has proved adept at dealing his way out of seemingly immovable contracts. But for now, Beal has cemented his place in Washington.
