NBA ALL STAR

March 7, 2021

Bradley Beal

Team Durant

Press Conference

Team LeBron 170, Team Durant 150

Q. The first All-Star Game as a starter. How was that experience for you overall?

BRADLEY BEAL: First, I want to thank my personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was amazing just to be able to be out on the floor with 20-plus other guys in the league who are phenomenal at what they do. For me to start, that felt great. I was happy about it. I enjoyed every single moment of being out there on the floor and happy we were able to compete and have fun with it.

Q. Did you feel that you established yourself as one of the best players in the league with that appearance?

BRADLEY BEAL: I don't know. I don't think anybody was giving their "A" game out there, but you definitely see we're all really good at what we do. You know, everybody especially in their own way, and nobody's here by accident. So it's just a testament to everybody's work and who they are as players, and I'm thrown into that bunch as well.

Q. What was it like playing with Jayson Tatum, and how did it match up to your expectations?

BRADLEY BEAL: It was fun. It was fun, man. That's my brother. That's my brother forever. It was very unique and awesome to be able to share a floor with him, for us both to get going. Like I said before, we've never been on the same team. That in itself was a little honor. We were both ecstatic about it, and we were happy. St. Louis boys have to stick together.

We were happy we were selected on the same team, and we got to come out tonight and showcase that for the world.

Q. And what's it like playing in a game where you know the stakes are related to charity money for each quarter? I would imagine that's an interesting dynamic.

BRADLEY BEAL: Yeah, it's definitely tough because it makes -- I wasn't here last year, so the scoring format was a little weird, but it was definitely unique to be able to be a part of that. It's very unique for the league, the PA and everybody to come together and recognize all the charities, and giving back to the HBCUs this weekend. I think that speaks volumes.

Who we are as a league speaks volumes, that we're still trying to empower change in this world and level the playing field in all aspects. Definitely hats off to the league for everything that they're doing and for every charity that we're out there competing for.

It definitely makes it tough because you want to win for your charity specifically, but at the end of the day, there are no losers.

Q. What do you think of trying to win the first three quarters and then the Elam Ending?

BRADLEY BEAL: I'm not against it. It's really cool. Definitely keeping the significance of Kobe in mind, adding 24 points at the end. I like it. I don't think it was too bad. I'm not sure about the Dunk Contest at halftime, because halftime was probably the longest I've ever been a part of in my life, but overall the game was great. The speed of it. There was no wasted energy of movements this whole 24 hours. So it was definitely good to go the way that we did.

Q. You mentioned everything the NBA is doing for the HBCUs. I wanted to lean in there for a moment. The college experience can be a difficult time for young adults. What advice would you give them to find themselves as they embark on life after college?

BRADLEY BEAL: It's funny because a lot of people always think they have to have it figured out in college, and I kind of disagree with that. A lot of successful people don't achieve what they want to until sometimes later in life. Yeah, you have your unicorns that figure it out at a young age, but I'm a firm believer in just staying the course and continue to put the work in and perfect your craft, set goals for yourself and go out and try to do your best to absolutely achieve them.

I think blessings and opportunities will fall into your lap, but it's obviously staying on pace for what you're doing and what you believe in, surrounding yourself around people who are smarter than you, who don't need anything from you and who push you. Just live life. Don't think you have to make a life-changing decision right now in college because you have the rest of your life to do that.

Q. What did it mean to have your sons with you, their first All-Star experience? Obviously, it won't be their last.

BRADLEY BEAL: It was awesome. It was amazing because my boys love basketball. They love basketball. Ironically, I don't teach them anything about it. I don't show it to them. I kind of blame my wife for that. But it's amazing that they want to be here, that they want to be interactive and that they just love watching their dad play. It means the world to me. It makes me want to go out and play super hard and impress them because one day down the line, I don't want my kids to say I was terrible and I'm not really good. So I have to be able to back up my talk.

Q. Talk a little bit about how important it has been to have all the fan support this year. Specifically, for you all the love on social media. Also, what continues to fuel you and motivate you in your career?

BRADLEY BEAL: I would say that I'm definitely more than appreciative of the fans and the love that they're showing. I'm somebody who -- I'm not saying I don't care about it, but that's not a reason I go out and play. In our game of basketball and accolades, there's respect to be able to receive that recognition on a national basis. For that, I'm forever grateful.

That's part of the motivation to continue to get better. I said this earlier to some HBCU students. What's tough about being in the league is there are only 450 jobs. We get 30 guaranteed guys coming in the first round every year. The life span of the league is three years. For that in itself, I use as motivation. The goal each and every single day, each and every year, each and every summer, I have to get better. I have to add something. I have to improve because you can get left behind.

Out of the millions of people and billions of people in this world, only 450 get a job in the NBA to play this game. I use that as motivation alone. And it's just my upbringing. My parents raised me to be a humble man and always pushing myself to be better and be my toughest critic. So humble and hungry is my motto I live by. I always just try to keep that in mind.

Q. You were able to hit six threes, which is more you were able to hit in a game. Obviously, much different defense. Is there anything, seeing the ball through the basket, that can maybe translate to the future?

BRADLEY BEAL: That's probably the most open looks I've had all year, right, Neal?

Q. Correct.

BRADLEY BEAL: Okay. I'll be better in the second half shooting threes, for sure.