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“It Was A Mix…”: NBA All-Star Reveals Allen Iverson And Dwyane Wade as Real Inspiration to His Game

Published 05/26/2020, 9:17 AM EDT

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The NBA sees a lot of talents enter the league every year. Through the draft, young talents get a chance to enter the grand stage and showcase their abilities to the world. Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal entered the NBA in the 2012 draft and has been putting up promising performances ever since. 

Beal has established himself as one of the best players in the Wizards team. The 26-year-old was selected as the third overall pick in the draft. Beal hasn’t moved away from the capital city ever since he joined them eight years ago. Though the Wizards have not always been successful lately, Beal managed to push his team to the playoffs four times since he joined the team.

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Every athlete in the NBA would have been inspired by one player or the other when they were growing up. You may find inspiration in any form. Just like the rest, Bradley Beal had his own pick of talented stars to look up to, when he aspired to become an NBA player. 

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Beal reveals the NBA players who inspired his game

Bradley Beal was born in 1993 when Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls completed their first three-peat. The two-time All-Star revealed his inspirations on ‘All the Smoke’ podcast recently. When the hosts asked him who he patterned his game after, Beal actually had three names to say and not one. 

“It was [Allen] Iverson, Ray Allen, and D-Wade,” Beal revealed. “It was a mix of all three of them. I love the way Ray shot the ball, it was silky smooth. Allen Iverson could put the ball on the floor and get whatever you wanted. And then, D-Wade was just a fierce scorer.”

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The upcoming prospect even mentioned why he tries to shape his game similar to that of Dwyane Wade’s. “Mainly he was a straight mid-range killer. That’s what I loved about him. And he was undersized. That was always my label coming into the league, being undersized in my position.”

Bradley Beal mentioned this trio as his inspiration and the ones he patterned his game after. All three players achieved a legendary status in their prime playing days. Except for Allen Iverson, the other two have won multiple championships. It is safe to say that the Wizards’ shooting guard can be expected to achieve greatness in the near future if he continues to work hard.

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Written by:

Arjun Athreya

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Arjun Athreya is a senior writer at Essentially Sports and has been contributing since early 2020. Having developed an avid interest in sports at an early age, he pursued a Journalism degree and graduated from Madras Christian College. Arjun manages the Golf division and its content, and primarily covers news pertaining to the NBA as well.
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