Bradley Emmanuel Beal Sr. (born June 28, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Big Panda", he is a three-time NBA All-Star and one-time All-NBA Third Team selection.
Beal was selected by the Washington Wizards with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. In eleven seasons with Washington, he was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2013, the All-NBA Third Team in 2021, and was a three-time All-Star. Beal is second on the Wizards' all-time leading scorer list. Beal was traded to the Phoenix Suns in 2023, forming a big 3 with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker; however, he struggled with constant injuries during his Suns tenure, a struggle that has continued to his time with the Clippers as he suffered a season-ending injury just six appearances into the 2025–26 season.
One of Beal's contracts - a five-year, $251 million supermax contract with a no-trade clause, initially signed with the Wizards - gained notoriety as among the worst in NBA history.
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Early life
Beal attended Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, Missouri. He competed for the U.S. in the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, winning the championship while averaging 18 points per game.
In addition to winning the tournament, Beal made the All-Tournament Team and won the MVP award. During his senior year of high school, Beal averaged 32.5 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game.
At the end of Beal's senior season, he was named the 2011 Mr. Show-Me Basketball which recognized him as the top high school basketball player in the state of Missouri. He was also named the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year.
College career
On November 30, 2009, Beal committed to the University of Florida. Beal accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the university, where he played for coach Billy Donovan's Gators team during the 2011–12 season.
In his first game at Florida, Beal started and recorded 14 points. Beal was named SEC Freshman of the Week on November 28, 2011. During the week of 11/21–11/28, Beal averaged 18.5 points, seven rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals in two wins over Wright State and Jacksonville.
Beal would go on to win five additional SEC Freshman of the Week honors and be named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and was a first-team All-SEC selection. Beal finished the season averaging 14.8 points per game. He also helped his team advance to the Elite Eight during the NCAA tournament before being ousted by Louisville.
Professional career
Washington Wizards (2012–2023)
On April 13, 2012, Beal declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final three years of college eligibility. On June 28, 2012, his 19th birthday, Beal was drafted with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards.
Beal was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in December 2012 and January 2013. On January 4, 2013, in a game against the Brooklyn Nets, Beal scored a then career high 24 points and hit a clutch three-pointer to send the game to double overtime; the Wizards went on to lose the game. On January 17, Beal set a then career best with six three-pointers made in a loss to the Sacramento Kings. He went on to be selected to appear in the Rising Stars competition at the 2013 All-Star weekend.
On April 3, 2013, it was announced that Beal would miss the remainder of the 2012–13 season with a right leg injury. At the end of the season, after playing 56 games, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team, and finished third in voting for the NBA Rookie of the Year award.
On November 10, 2013, Beal surpassed his then-career high by scoring 34 points in an overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He later set a then-benchmark for his personal best by scoring a career-high 37 points in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Beal finished as runner-up in the Three-Point Shootout at the 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, losing to Marco Belinelli. At the time, Beal was the youngest competitor in the event's history. On April 29, 2014, Beal and the Wizards defeated the Bulls in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, moving the team on to the second round, a feat the franchise hadn't reached since 2005. In their series against the top-seeded Indiana Pacers, the Wizards lost in six games.
On October 11, 2014, Beal underwent an MRI that revealed a non-displaced fracture of the scaphoid bone in his left wrist, subsequently requiring surgery. He was later ruled out for six to eight weeks. After missing the first nine games of the season with the injury, he made his season debut on November 19 against the Dallas Mavericks.
In just under 26 minutes off the bench, he recorded a team-high 21 points, as well as 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal, in the 102–105 loss. He went on to make a game-winning buzzer beater on December 10 against the Orlando Magic. With 0.8 seconds left on the clock, coach Randy Wittman drew up a guard around screen for Beal off the pass from Andre Miller that ended Orlando's attempts to send the game into overtime. He finished the game with 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block in the 91–89 win.
Phoenix Suns (2023–2025)
On June 24, 2023, the Wizards traded Beal, along with Jordan Goodwin and Isaiah Todd, to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a package that included four first-round pick swaps, six second-round picks, Landry Shamet, and future teammate Chris Paul. After missing the first seven games of the season due to lower back tightness, Beal made his debut with the Suns on November 8, 2023 against the Chicago Bulls with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 23 minutes of action during a tense 116–115 overtime win. On January 11, 2024, Beal scored 37 points and made 8-of-10 three-pointers in a 127–109 win against the Los Angeles Lakers. Beal made his return to Washington on February 4. In his first game against his former team, Beal shot 16-of-21 from the field and finished with a season-high 43 points in a 140–112 victory over the Wizards. On April 14, 2024, Beal scored a game-high 36 points and grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds in a 125–106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, helping the Suns not only avoid the NBA play-in tournament, but also secure a spot in the playoffs for their fourth straight year in their regular-season finale. They went on to get swept in the first round by the Timberwolves, with Beal finishing with nine points, six turnovers, and fouling out in game 4.
With the Suns sitting at 15–18 to begin the 2024–25 campaign, the Suns elected to move Beal to the bench in favor of Ryan Dunn, beginning with their January 6, 2025 game against the Philadelphia 76ers. In his first game off the bench in nine years, Beal scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half as Phoenix snapped a four-game losing streak with a 109–99 victory. On July 16, 2025, Beal was waived by the Suns after a contract buyout agreement.
Los Angeles Clippers (2025–present)
On July 18, 2025, Beal signed a two-year $11 million contract with the Los Angeles Clippers including a player option for the 2026–27 season. On November 12, Beal underwent a season-ending surgery to repair a hip fracture. In six games that season, he averaged career lows in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage.
National team career
Beal committed to playing on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team, delayed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After playing in three exhibition games, he was ruled out for the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for the coronavirus. Beal later expressed interest in joining the 2024 U.S. Olympic team if he was asked to join.
Career statistics
Personal life
Beal and his wife Kamiah Adams have three sons together. Their eldest son, Bradley "Deuce" Beal II, was born in 2018, followed by Braylen Beal in 2019, and Braxton Beal in 2022. The couple got engaged in 2020, and married in 2025.
Beal is the son of Bobby and Besta Beal, and has four brothers: Brandon, Bruce, Byron and Bryon. All four played or are currently playing college football: Brandon played tight end at Northern Illinois; Bruce played offensive lineman at Alabama State; and Bryon and Byron played offensive linemen and defensive line, respectively, at Lindenwood University.
Beal forged a partnership with the St. Louis Eagles AAU basketball club, which he played for in his high school days, after joining the NBA; in 2017 the organization was officially renamed Bradley Beal Elite. The club fields boys' and girls' teams in the Nike-sponsored Elite Youth Basketball League. In 2024, Beal acquired naming rights to a sports facility in Chesterfield, Missouri; the Beal Center hosts Bradley Beal Elite team events as well as volleyball clubs, community youth sports, and other programming.
Rapper Nelly, who is a family friend, used to walk Beal to school. Beal, in turn, babysat future Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum as a teen, becoming a close friend and mentor to the fellow St. Louis native.
Beal considers himself a nerd, with a 4.0 GPA in high school and studying biology as a pre-med in college.
In August 2020, Beal sold his 12,000 square-foot French Provencal-style McLean, Virginia mansion for $3.5 million to co-founder of &pizza, entrepreneur Steve Salis.