Bradley Beal is one of the finest scorers of his generation. Unfortunately, Beal has been in a situation with the Washington Wizards where the team hasn’t enjoyed any postseason success with Beal as the leader of the team. Individual success has come for Beal as he has been an All-Star and a multiple-time runner-up for scoring champion. He will continue hooping with the Wizards for the foreseeable future given the contract extension he signed.
In 2020-21, Beal came second in the scoring title race to Stephen Curry, arguably one of the greatest of this generation. Beal gave Curry full credit for changing the game and making it a more perimeter-centric game while talking to JJ Redick. But Beal also had to mention the ill effects of Curry’s style in youth basketball, as kids are learning to be shooters before they’re learning the fundamentals of the game.
“He messed up the game in a good way. I think he hurt the youth because the youth just loves threes and that’s all they thinking about doing is shooting threes. You can just see in the league how we value the three-point line now. It’s not just something that we just look at as a spacer. We value it at all five positions. We need everybody to be able to shoot the three because that’s a threat — spacing the floor, being able to create some more drives for your guards… I think him and Klay and their whole team just changed the game in a good but bad way.”
Curry’s impact on the game is indelible. As far as making kids shoot more 3s, it is an evolution of the game and was bound to happen, similar to Michael Jordan inspiring kids to perfect the midrange fadeaway. A good coach will always ensure their players are fundamentally sound, especially if they’re good enough to play at the NCAA D1 or NBA level.
The Impact Of Stephen Curry In The Modern NBA
The NBA used to favor the bigs a lot more in terms of the under-the-rim shots being the most sought-after. It is harder to miss when you’re closer to the basket, so big men that could get to the rim and protect it were always preferred. A point guard’s job was to be the playmaker.
The natural evolution of basketball saw those notions change over time but Curry eliminated it after his sudden rise in the mid-2010s. 10 years ago, teams were trying to play double-big lineups whereas nowadays we see teams use lineups with no centers for maximum versatility and stretchability.
This change is completely linked to the Warriors and Curry. Beal was right to call out the negative aspects of Curry’s influence on kids but he gave Steph the love he deserves for changing the game and making guards the most valuable assets in the league.
