No Snubs: Why Bradley Beal should make an All-NBA team this season

A big controversy swirling around Washington in mid-February was one of the nastiest All-Star snubs the NBA has seen in a long time. It is clear Bradley Beal has been the Wizards MVP all season long and deserved a spot to be recognized with the NBA’s elite on the same floor. Unfortunately, the voters had other ideas. There’s nothing Beal could do to change the results of the polls but he’s letting his play on the court and competitive fire off the court speak for itself. With Beal stepping up, the Wizards hope to string together wins for that eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

None of this was more evident than in Washington’s back-to-back games in two different cities just a week after the All Star Game took place. In Chicago on February 23^rd Beal dropped 55 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists. The next night the Wizards took on the beasts of the east in the Milwaukee Bucks. The panda was up to the challenge with 55 points. Those were good stats but the best part about a competitive player like Beal is the dissatisfaction after good games that result in losses.

Sadly, that was the case in both games for a playoff hungry Wizards team. Beal continued to put up good numbers with 30 points in a win over the Brooklyn Nets, 42 in a loss to the Utah Jazz, 34 in a win over the Golden State Warriors followed by 35 and 29 in losses to the Sacramento Kings and Portland TrailBlazers, respectively.

Breaking down those last seven games the numbers are INSANE. Beal has averaged 39.7 points per game in that stretch along with 6.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds. So far this season Beal has averaged 30.4 points per game, which is easily a career best. He continues to try to lead a team without John Wall but he knows better days are ahead. Even if the Wizards miss the playoffs, there’s a young core to build off of and adding a healthy Wall and Beal to the mix is vital.

This begs the question, can the league make up for the ASG snub by naming Beal to All-NBA? If Beal continues to put up good numbers I would say no doubt but the Wizards sneaking into the playoffs as an eighth seed would help push him over the edge. If the Wizards do make the playoffs and Beal still isn’t All-NBA, then the league owes him an apology.