Bradley Beal becomes the second Wizard ever to score 12,000 points originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Bradley Beal is an elite scorer. During the second quarter of Washington’s game vs. Miami on Wednesday, Beal surpassed the 12,000 career point mark, a feat which has only been accomplished by one other player in franchise history.
With an explosive drive capped off by a left-handed layup with just under 6:00 remaining in the first half against the Heat, Beal scored his 12,001st point in the NBA. The only other player in franchise history to reach the 12,000-point mark was Elvin Hayes, who went on to score over 27,000 during his career, 15,551 of which he scored as a Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullet.
‘The Big E’ spent nine seasons with the Bullets, winning a championship with the team in 1978. Hayes currently stands as the 10th-highest scorer in NBA history.
The 12,000-point milestone wasn’t the only bit of history Bradley Beal accomplished on Wednesday night. He ended up with 32 points on the evening, making it his 17th consecutive game with at least 25 points to start a season–the fifth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The player he passed on that list? Michael Jordan. Yes, THE Michael Jordan–who did it twice. Beal’s 17-game streak bested Jordan’s marks of 16 and 13 games, which he did in 1988 and 1986, respectively. The all-time leader on that list is Wilt Chamberlain, who set the NBA record in 1961-62, when he scored at least 25 in all 80 games of the season.
The Wizards drafted Bradley Beal with the 3rd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft after the shooting guard spent one season with the University of Florida. Since his first season in Washington, Beal has solidified himself as one of the most electric guards in the league, becoming a two-time All-Star in the process.
Beal’s scoring has reached a career-high this season, as the St. Louis native leads the league with 35.0 points per game—a sizeable lead over the current runner-up, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant who posts a 30.8 ppg clip. Beal is also Washington’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals and three-point attempts. He also posts a 26.12 Player Efficiency Rating this season, good enough for eighth in the NBA.
