“Still have a little trouble breathing out of my right nostril, but I’m good for the most part.” Bradley Beal’s update a month after suffering a major nose injury created doubts on whether he could continue during the final stages of the 2023-24 season. Fortunately, he was present all the way till the end, even though the Phoenix Suns could not go past the first round of the playoffs. To ensure that his injury wouldn’t bother him this season too, Beal reportedly had a procedure done on his nose in June. Knowing that he is amongst those who hold the key to the Suns’ success, Beal seems to have a hype man present alongside him.

In the midst of the preseason games, several media members were able to get a hold of Devin Booker for a Q&A session. As one of them proceeded to discuss Bradley Beal’s progress, the 4x NBA All-Star sent his flowers to his teammate by stating, “The times that he played, he played super well. He played hard. He was super competitive. That’s Brad just being hard on himself, but he’s the type of guy I’d want to go to war with any day.”

Bradley Beal only managed to score 9 points during the Suns’ final playoff game against the Minnesota Timberwolves last season. Fortunately, his performance has not yet reached that dire stage in the ongoing preseason, as he has managed to average 13.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists over the last 3 games. While his 4.7-10.3 field goals and 1.7-4.3 three-pointers indicate that the player is often missing his shooting opportunities, his contribution has still helped the Suns win 2 of those 3 games. While it is still too early to say, Beal seems to be proving why he deserves the $50.2 million pay that puts him amongst the Top 10 Highest Earning Players of the 2024-25 season.

Upon being traded to the Phoenix Suns back in 2023, the shooting guard was expected to bring a big change to the Suns’ championship chances by forming the next ‘Big 3’ alongside Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Unfortunately, the trio only ended up playing together in only 40 games last season. A major reason behind this was Bradley Beal’s continuous injuries. After his back injury forced him to miss the start of the season and only debut in November, he ended up being absent for another elongated period after just 3 games.

Everything seemed fine after the player recovered from his ankle injury back in December 2023. Then came along the nose injury, sustained after Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner accidentally elbowed Beal’s face back in January. While he wore a mask and continued playing, the trouble from the injury would have prevented him from giving his 100%.

With so many opportunities left underutilized, the Suns may now look to use Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, along with Kevin Durant, to carry the offensive charge and prevent any other injuries from coming their way. Fortunately, Beal has set goals for himself during the upcoming regular season and may look to adhere to them.

After injury-ridden season, Bradley Beal now wants to find joy in basketball during the upcoming season

After an offseason period spent in recovery, the Phoenix Suns’ media day provided the chance for Bradley Beal to highlight his expectations for the upcoming season. In an exclusive interview with Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke, the player revealed having evaluated the previous season, and what he could have done differently during the same. This led him to form the conclusion that “my main focus and goal this year is have fun.” After all, setting too many expectations earlier did not seem to work out so well for the 31-year-old.

“So many things are going on around you,” Beal revealed, reminiscing on the previous season. “You’re hurt, you’re trying to get back into the flow, you’re trying to mesh with your team. I never really got my feet planted correctly and got to run with the team (last year). I always felt like I was playing catch-up, and that whole process was frustrating.”

Despite trying one’s best, avoiding injuries isn’t always easy. With his performance already being his commendable factor, Bradley Beal has chosen to change one important thing about himself: his outlook. Whether the same will help the Suns go beyond the first round of the playoffs this time around is a question that will only be answered in due course.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.