The 75 greatest NBA players of the 2010s, ranked

57) Bradley Beal

Phoenix Suns star Bradley Beal spent eight seasons of the 2010s with the Washington Wizards, helping them achieve their best stretch of success in years. Beal spent seven of those seasons playing alongside fellow star John Wall and forming one of the top backcourts in the NBA. 

Together, they carried the Wizards to four playoff appearances in five years, including three trips to the Eastern Conference semi-finals. That might not seem like a major accomplishment but from 1980 up to 2024, Washington only made it out of the first round twice outside of the Beal era. 

Actually, they missed the playoffs 27 times, with seven first-round exits. That might not have been enough to earn the Wizards a championship but Beal's play—averaging 19.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 488 games—helped make them revelant. Even still, those numbers actually underestimate his play, with him putting up 22.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists over the final four seasons of the era. 

He would be even better in the two seasons that followed the end of the 2010s, averaging more than 30 points per game in back-to-back seasons, though for the purposes of this article, that doesn't count. With only two all-star appearances, no awards, or all-NBA teams, that hurts him slightly, but coming in at 57 is still perfectly respectable.