NBA All-Star Game 2018: Why Vote Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal
Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal hopes to make his first career All-Star appearance in 2018.
Voting for the NBA All-Star Game 2018 opened Christmas Day and with just over a week left to cast your vote, we illustrate why Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal is deserving of a spot on this year’s All-Star Game.
First, Beal just capped off a week which earned him his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week award with less than two weeks left until voting closes.
The past four seasons, superstar John Wall has represented the franchise with four straight All-Star selections. However, fellow teammate Bradley Beal awaits his well-deserved All-Star appearance.
Beal, 24, is averaging 23.4 points and shooting 44.7 percent from the field in his sixth NBA season, which should be plenty for his first-career All-Star appearance.
But, Beal’s current numbers are nearly identical to his pre-All-Star break stats last season when the NBA elected to pick NBA legend Carmelo Anthony over Beal to replace the injured Kevin Love.
After news broke, Beal described his snub as “weird” and went on to say to tell Candace Buckner of The Washington Post:
"I’ll never say a player doesn’t deserve to be on the all-star team. For one, Carmelo is a great player. Hell, he’s been one of the best offensive threats in the league for years now, and I’m taking absolutely nothing away from him. But the process of it does not make sense. If they reward winning, then I don’t understand how the decision was made."
Fortunately, Beal’s 2018 competition is far less established in the NBA than year’s past. Besides Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving, Beal’s competition includes Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan and Indiana Pacers’ Victor Oladipo.
| Player | Age | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | TOV | PTS▼ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DeMar DeRozan | 28 | 35 | 35 | 34.6 | 8.6 | 17.8 | .485 | 1.1 | 3.0 | .349 | .824 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 24.9 |
Victor Oladipo | 25 | 33 | 33 | 34.4 | 8.9 | 18.4 | .485 | 2.7 | 6.5 | .423 | .790 | 5.3 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 24.9 |
Bradley Beal | 24 | 37 | 37 | 35.4 | 8.5 | 19.0 | .447 | 2.4 | 6.5 | .365 | .781 | 4.4 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 23.4 |
Oladipo is having a monster season in his hometown with the Indiana Pacers, averaging a career-highs in points (24.9), 3-point field goal percentage (42.3), field goal percentage (48.5) and rebounds (5.3). As a result, Oladipo’s play may lift him to an All-Star starter with Irving.
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DeRozan, on the other hand, is having another fantastic season with the Toronto Raptors. And despite averaging more points than Beal, DeRozan shoots just three 3-pointers per game. Both Beal and Oladipo shoot twice as many shots from beyond the arc than DeRozan.
Beal is more than worthy of selection for the 2018 NBA All-Star game with plenty reasons to vote for the Wizards guard.
A healthy Beal may be the most powerful factor in his tremendous season. For the first time in his career, Beal has started every game thus far on the Wizards schedule, 37 straight games to be exact, something he’s never done in his career.
Beal continues to produce night in and night out with mesmerizing performances. Entering the Wizards matchup against the New York Knicks, Beal has 27 games with at least 20 points or more.
In addition, the 6-foot-5 Wizards guard registered four 30-plus point performances, including a career-high 51 points last month in Portland. Most noteworthy, Beal is putting together a solid case to earn his first NBA All-Star selection this season.
Vote to Help Bradley Beal Earn His First All-Star Selection
Under new NBA All-Star Game rules that replace the original East vs. West format, two captains will now form the rosters. Despite new team formats, fans and NBA coaches will still have their respective say in the players selected.
The NBA has implemented numerous ways to cast your All-Star vote such as:
- NBA.com: Vote at NBA.com/vote
- NBA Mobile App
- Facebook: Post Facebook status and include “Bradley Beal” and #NBAVOTE
- Twitter: Tweet and include “Bradley Beal” and #NBAVOTE
- Google: Search “NBAVote All-Star” on Google
- Amazon Alexa: Ask “Alexa, tell NBA All-Star to vote for Bradley Beal”
Complete instructions and rules on how to cast your vote are available at NBA.com.
Lastly, we present Beal’s top plays from the 2017-18 NBA season:
5. Nov. 3 vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Stat Line: 36 points, four rebounds, four assists, 36 minutes, 12-19 FG
4. Nov. 5 at Toronto Raptors | Wizards 107 – Raptors 96
Stat Line: 38 points, five rebounds, four assists, 39 minutes, 16-26 FG, 4-6 3PT
3. Dec. 31 vs. Chicago Bulls | Bulls 110 – Wizards 114
Stat Line: 39 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, two steals, 44 minutes, 16/29 FG, 7/13 3PT
4. Nov. 1 at Phoenix Suns | Suns 122 – Wizards 116
Stat Line: 40 points, six rebounds, 37 minutes, 12/25 FG, 6/12 3PT
5. Dec. 15 at Portland Trail Blazers | Wizards 106 – Blazers 92
Stat Line: 51 points, three rebounds, 43 minutes, 21/37 FG, 5/12 3PT