Bradley Beal doesn’t carry the burden that John Wall was saddled with when he came to Washington two years ago, and he didn’t match the former No. 1 overall draft pick by earning MVP honors at the Las Vegas Summer League.
But the third overall pick in last month’s NBA Draft did make the All-Summer League team, which is not too shabby whatsoever. More important than Beal’s team-leading 17.6 points per game – he was followed by Chris Singleton (12.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg), Shelvin Mack (11.0 ppg, 2.4 apg, 3.4 tpg) and Jan Vesely (7.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg) – was his demeanor and professional approach in the Wizards five games. Along with , along with 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists, Beal scored no fewer than 14 points in each game, with a high of 22 in Washington’s opener last week. He also got to the line 36 times, where he converted 26 attempts (72.2 percent).
Now, Beal was far from perfect. He shot 41.8 percent from the field and just 30 percent from 3-point range, going 1-for-7 from the arc against the D-League on July 15.
The most important thing to remember about Summer League is that it is just summer league, not a totally accurate measure of what Beal or anyone else will face during the season in the NBA. But Beal is off to a solid start, showing that he has the potential to be dependable and reliable once the fall rolls around.
Portland rookie point guard Damian Lillard, the sixth overall pick, and second-year Memphis guard Josh Selby, who dropped 35 points on the Wizards, were named co-MVPs.
The full All-Summer League team:
Josh Selby – Memphis Grizzlies
*Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers
Malcolm Thomas – Chicago Bulls
*Bradley Beal – Washington Wizards
Tobias Harris – Milwaukee Bucks
*John Henson – Milwaukee Bucks
*Jeremy Lamb – Houston Rockets
Dominique Jones – Dallas Mavericks
Cory Joseph – San Antonio Spurs
Jimmy Butler – Chicago Bulls
Kemba Walker – Charlotte Bobcats
*Donatas Motiejunas – Houston Rockets
*Jae Crowder – Dallas Mavericks
*rookie
