Bradley Beal made a bold declaration with the Phoenix Suns trailing 3-0 in their first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. After the Suns’ Game 3 loss, Beal told reporters “I’ve never been swept a day in my life … I’ll be damned if that happens.”
Beal’s quote always had the potential to go viral if the Suns lost Game 4. That’s exactly what happened. The Wolves finished off Phoenix, 122-116, on Sunday night to complete the sweep. Within minutes, the official Timberwolves account posted a quote-graphic of Beal’s remarks with “first time for everything.” Beal certainly contributed to the season-ending loss by scoring only nine points on 13 field goal attempts in the elimination game.
As Beal met the press in Phoenix for his end-of-season press conference, he came prepared with a joke to lighten the mood for his opening statement. Watch the video here:
Beal said “I’ll be damned, man,” which drew a big laugh from the reporters circling him. While it’s nice that Beal was self-aware at his lowest point of the season, it’s also a joke that probably isn’t very funny to Suns fans right now.
Here’s the original Beal quote-graphic again before the Game 4 loss:
The Suns made a big bet on Beal going into this season as the perfect third star to pair with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. It went about as poorly as possible: injuries limited Beal to only 53 games, and the Suns have found cohesion between their three stars. Phoenix was out-scored by 51 points with Beal on the floor in the series. He has three years, $160 million left on his contract, and Phoenix has already depleted their draft capital by putting together this roster.
It’s going to be a fascinating offseason for the Suns. At least Beal can laugh all the way to the bank.