Zach LaVine has only continued his rise up the league ranks over the past couple of years. He first cracked the All-Star game in the 2020-21 season, going on to finish as the NBA’s seventh-leading scorer. Then, just this past year, LaVine earned his second-consecutive All-Star nod before stepping into the postseason for the first time in his career. His 1,635 points (13th) also helped lead the Chicago Bulls to their most wins since the 2015-16 season.
Now, with the organization back in the competitive mix, a highly-publicized unrestricted free agency making fans sweat, and a flurry of mediocre commercials on the airwaves (no offense, Zach), it sure feels like LaVine has arrived. But Bradley Beal still thinks we don’t talk enough about his fellow Eastern Conference star.
In a recent conversation with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks, Beal was asked to provide five players he believes aren’t talked about enough in today’s NBA.
Beal: “I was going to say Zach, but we started talking about Zach a little more this year”
Rooks: “You can throw him in there if you want.”
Beal: “Yeah, I’ll throw Zach in there.”
Along with LaVine, Beal went on to shout out the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, Spurs’ Dejounte Murray, Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane.
While Beal was right to express that LaVine might finally be outside of this designation, I think he’s correct to still throw him into the conversation. The fact of the matter is that we likely haven’t seen the peak of LaVine’s powers. After all, he’s just about to enter his prime at the ripe age of 27 years old, and all he’s done throughout his career is display a clear desire and ability to add to his game.
Anyway, I just thought it was noteworthy that a player of Beal’s stature name-dropped the Bulls’ star. It just goes to show how well-regarded LaVine has become across the league, which only adds a bit more context to why he is arguably the most coveted player on the free-agent market this summer.
Check out the full interview below: