Getty Bradley Beal, No. 3 of the Washington Wizards, reacts after a play against the Golden State Warriors during the second half at Capital One Arena on April 21, 2021.
Kent Bazemore, of the Golden State Warriors, took a shot at Washington Wizard Bradley Beal Monday morning. Just hours later, Beal and his wife sent a few back Bazemore’s way.
Bazemore’s slight was relatively off topic considering the context of the conversation during which it was made. He was asked by reporters on the morning of Monday, May 10, about his teammate Steph Curry’s stellar performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder two nights before. Curry came up one point shy of 50 in a dominant 136-97 Warriors win.
“Forty-nine points in 29 minutes, that’s unreal,” Bazemore said. “We got guys hurting hamstrings to keep up.”
Curry overtook Beal in the race for the NBA’s scoring title with the performance. On the same night, the Wizards star guard injured his hamstring after scoring 50 points of his own against the Indiana Pacers. Beal was ruled out for at least two games, making it all the more likely Curry will capture the league’s scoring crown.
Beal’s Wife, Kamiah, Clapped Back at Bazemore in Short Order
GettyGolden State Warriors guard Kent Bazemore set off a Twitter feud Monday, May 10, after taking a shot at Wizards guard Bradley Beal.
With his statement to the press, Bazemore took a clear jab at the Wizards’ All-Star guard, literally adding insult to injury. Beal and his wife, Kamiah Adams-Beal, took issue with Bazemore’s comments, then took to Twitter to share a few of their own.
Never do you have to put one person down, to make another feel good. That’s a characteristic of a weak person!
Adams-Beal took the first shot.
“Never do you have to put one person down, to make another feel good. That’s a characteristic of a weak person!” she wrote.
She continued on, getting a little more personal with Bazemore, by posting a separate Tweet merely listing his career statistics. Though Adams-Beal was not specific in her slight of the Warriors guard, she clearly intended to put his accomplishments up against her husband’s.
And Bazemore’s pale in comparison.
Bazemore has averaged 8.5 points per game over the course of his nine-year career, along with 3.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Beal was drafted into the NBA the same season as Bazemore, though the Wizard has had considerably greater success.
Beal has averaged 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists over the same time period, including 31.4 points per game this season. He has also been selected to three All-Star teams.
“Sometimes, your best bet, is just to shut up,” Adams-Beal wrote in the Tweet disparaging Bazemore.
Beal Had Words of His Own For Bazemore
GettyBradley Beal had zero time or patience for a slight offered by Golden State Warrior Kent Bazemore.
Not to be outdone by his wife, Beal put Bazemore in his crosshairs later Monday night while simultaneously scoffing at the notion that he is concerned about Curry or the scoring title.
I stay in my lane!! Focus on BRAD. Idc what another man doing in this league. I’m concerned about me and MY GUYS over here!! Keep that goofy shit over there @24Bazemore !!
“I’m concerned about me and MY GUYS over here!!” Beal wrote on Twitter. “Keep that goofy s*** over there @24Bazemore!!”
Monday evening, Bazemore offered a response to the all-out online assault from the Beal family. It came after Golden State edged out a thrilling three-point victory over the Utah Jazz.
Kent Bazemore on the Brad Beal stuff: “I guess you can’t joke anymore. Whatever. I feel like I’m a pretty lighthearted guy. Hey man — my loyalty is to SC30. It kind of got out of hand. I don’t get involved with that crap.”
“I guess you can’t joke anymore. Whatever,” Bazemore said. “I feel like I’m a pretty lighthearted guy. Hey man, my loyalty is to SC30. It kind of got out of hand. I don’t get involved with that crap.”
What started off as at least a semi-playful poke took less than 12 hours to balloon into a full-blown Twitter feud. With the Warriors and the Wizards each involved in playoff pushes — in separate conferences, no less — dousing the flames of the conflict with continued silence wouldn’t be an illogical decision on Bazemore’s end, as it serves only to distract.
But when it comes to NBA Twitter in the digital age, a re-ignition of a war of words is only ever a few key strokes away. Stay tuned.