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Bradley Beal’s decision to re-sign with Wizards was impacted by the success of other local teams

By Ian Oland

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October 17, 2019 6:07 pm

The Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018. The Washington Valor won the Arena Bowl in 2018. The Washington Mystics won a WNBA championship in 2019. And the Washington Nationals just advanced to the World Series.

All that winning played a factor in Bradley Beal signing a two-year, $72 million maximum extension with the Washington Wizards on Thursday that kicks in during the 2021-22 season. NBA analysts expected Beal to be traded. Instead, the St. Louis native will play a major role in the Wizards’ rebuild as fellow superstar, John Wall, rehabilitates from a torn Achilles that will keep him out all of next season.

“I love DC,” Beal said in a press conference. “This is where I always wanted to be and this is where I want to be for the rest of my career.”

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During his time in the district, Beal has gone to Capitals games and become friends with star center Evgeny Kuznetsov. During the Washington Mystics’ WNBA championship run, Beal went to games at Entertainment and Sports Arena along with Tom Wilson and teammate John Wall to support the team

“Just seeing the atmosphere. Seeing how DC is. DC loves sports. Period,” Beal said. “Whether it’s football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, everything – even the soccer team is in the playoffs. We got everything here. This is a good city. This is the greatest city. This is a supercity. It’s a beautiful market. I love it.”

Despite the Wizards missing the playoffs last season, Beal has hope things will turn around, potentially quickly, because every other team in the area (minus the Redskins) have found a way to win and have great franchises.

“I can’t neglect that. They’ve all built powerhouses,” Beal said. “They’re having success and continuing to have success over the last couple of years. I can’t ignore it. It’s kind of cliche and people may think (that) – but hard work pays off. When you have good camaraderie and a good group of people who come together on and off the court it’s displayed on the field or on the court. Definitely thinking about the other teams in DC – it lingered. It wasn’t a heavy decision about that, but it definitely played a part.”