The third member of the Suns “Big 3” is due for a big season. I can feel it.

Welcome to the 2024-25 Phoenix Suns Season Preview series, where we embark on a comprehensive journey through the roster. In this series, we’ll break down individual player previews, offering a detailed look at each member of the Suns’ lineup. We’ll recap their performance from last season, highlighting key moments and areas of growth, and analyze how their skills, experience, and roles will contribute to the team’s championship aspirations.

Whether it’s the seasoned veterans or the rising stars, each player has a unique role in what could be a defining season for the franchise. Join us as we explore the potential and challenges that lie ahead for the Suns in their pursuit of basketball glory.

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Bradley Beal

Shooting Guard, 6’4”, 207 lbs., 31 years old, 12 Years of NBA Experience

2023-24 Recap

The 2023-24 season was widely considered a disappointment for Bradley Beal and the Phoenix Suns. If you dig deeper and block out the rough 4-game playoff stretch, Beal’s overall body of work was quite solid.

Beal averaged 18.2 points (the second lowest since his age-22 season in 2015-16) to go with 5.0 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. He chipped in with 1 steal and half a block per contest in 53 games, averaging 33.3 minutes a night.

As a third option, it’s not easy to find buckets when your two lead dogs are Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Beal did his best to find those pockets of opportunity when they arose, and should only get better with more time and chemistry built with his teammates.

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Bradley Beal’s game 4 performance was horrendous and cost the Suns dropping an extremely winnable game that Booker (49) and Durant (33) went off in.

Beal finished with 9 points on 4-13 FG with 6 turnovers and 6 fouls. It was a nightmare game for him, as the mental mistakes piled up with the Wolves defense swarming him. His defensive rating was 122.4 in that series and he had trouble stopping Anthony Edwards, but to be fair, most people did last playoffs.

Let’s move past that while not entirely ignoring it because it sure happened.

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Contract Details

Beal’s contract is an important talking point when discussing his impact.

In 2024-25, Beal will earn a base salary of $50,203,930. That increases to 53,666,270 in 2025-26 and 57,128,610 in 2026-27 (player option). He is expected to enter free agency in the summer of 2027.

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Strengths & Weaknesses

Let’s start with his strengths.

He can shoot the rock. Beal is a shifty handle with a knack for getting downhill to the rim and finishing strong. He has a strong frame and isn’t bothered by contact on either end.

He can still score the rock efficiently. His eFG% was a career-high 58.2%, and his true shooting percentage sat at 60.7%, also a career-best. He shot lights out from deep too, connecting on 43% of his triples, also a career-high.

Now, the key for him will be maintaining that efficiency and “fitting” into the offense more seamlessly than he did a season ago. It should be entirely possible due to the Suns having initiators in their offense now, which in turn will give Beal less to worry about and more opportunity through what should be stellar guard play in terms of table setting.

And yes, he’s still capable of doing this on any given night:

The playmaking from Beal is underrated in a secondary sense, and I believe he can truly thrive as a playmaker in the background with less pressure to be a point (shared with Book last season).

The playmaking is cool and all, but the most important thing for Bradley Beal next season will be to… LET IT FLY. This team needs him to shoot at a high volume and continue to knock down open looks at a high clip as he did last season. I want to see his attempts (along with Durant and Booker) from three increase.

Weaknesses

His primary weakness starts with the point of attack defense at his size. There is some redundancy on that end when Beal, Booker, and Allen are out there in those three-guard lineups.

Instead of being a star, Beal needs to be a “spark” that can get the Suns going at any instant. For someone making $50+ million a year, that is an expensive 3&D energy guy, but it’s what this team needs from him. And he doesn’t just have to be that, because there will be games where an expanded, high-usage role will be necessary from him on that end.

Beal needs to be diving for loose balls. He must get physical. Take pride in pursuing rebounds and box out. Close out hard on shooters. Be a loud and effective communicator defensively and play sound team defense. He doesn’t need to be something he’s not. He just needs to buy into the little things, which he did at times last season. We just need more of it.

Olympic Beal, anyone?

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One Key Factor

The Suns need him to appear in 60+ games and to enter the playoffs healthy first and foremost.

Defense wins championships. Can Bradley Beal hone in on that end to another level? The ability to take more plays “off” offensively by not being the heliocentric offensive threat constantly should theoretically allow him to have more energy to expend on that end.

He showed us moments of that last season, but to put it bluntly, we need more. If not, you can kiss the Suns’ title hopes goodbye. We’ve seen time and time again that just Durant and Booker cannot do it alone. Beal needs to become what they need him to become (on both ends) or this will not work. I will not sugarcoat it.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

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Prediction Time

Beal has a strong season is a third option and looks more comfortable in the Valley. He will likely miss a couple of small stretches in the season with bumps and bruises as he typically does, but I am hoping for 62 games played from him at least. If he misses 20 games or so, at least they have the reinforcements to survive it with Monte Morris, Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen, and of course Devin Booker.

Statline Prediction:

19.1 PPG – 4.0 APG – 4.6 RPG – 1.1 SPG on a 50/41/82 shooting split.

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Final Thoughts

If the Phoenix Suns want to win a championship, Bradley Beal needs to live up to his contract.

That starts with health and availability. He had some bad luck last season with injuries completely out of his control. He got into the playoffs healthy last season, but everything felt disorganized and out of sync. They need to enter the playoffs hot and healthy this year and show signs of clicking earlier in the season for longer stretches.

I’m here for the redemption chapter.

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

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Read other 2024-25 Player Previews right here: