PHOENIX — Phoenix Suns fans welcomed back Bradley Beal in exactly the fashion you’d expect.
Towards the end of pre-game introductions as Thursday night’s battle against the Los Angeles Clippers began, a welcome back photo for Beal was quickly posted on the team’s jumbotron which was met with a “healthy amount of boos” around the arena, according to Kellan Olson.
It was worse when the Clippers’ starting lineup was introduced:
Loud boos when Bradley Beal is introduced in the Clippers starting lineup pic.twitter.com/fhIm4tHsIL
— Brendan Mau (@brendan_mau) November 7, 2025
Through early action in the first quarter, Beal has been emphatically jeered every time he’s touched the ball.
This is the first time Beal is back in Phoenix following his drama-filled departure this summer.
With James Harden and Kawhi Leonard unavailable tonight, Clippers coach Ty Lue says Beal is more than capable of shouldering the load against the Suns.
“I think physically, he definitely can do it. Just the minutes he’s going to be playing, I don’t think he can score 35 points or 40 points, but, the most important thing is, he’s feeling better,” Lue said pre-game.
“He’s slowly working towards where he’s trying to get to and then tonight, just one of those days, just adding, stacking games, stacking days, and this would be another one he’s trying to stack.”
Beal was initially acquired via trade from the Washington Wizards in the summer of 2023 as part of a three-team deal that saw Landry Shamet and Chris Paul depart Phoenix.
Beal, at the time, was only two years removed from averaging over 30 points per game, and many had hoped the Suns’ scoring issues beyond Devin Booker and Kevin Durant would have been solved.
Yet over the course of Beal’s two seasons in the desert, that wasn’t the case.
A combination of injuries (he played exactly 53 games in each year with the Suns) on top of organizational chaos on and off the floor led to some pretty disappointing results on a personal and team level.
Beal never proved himself to be the final piece to the Suns’ championship puzzle while Phoenix didn’t win a single playoff game in their short “Big 3” era.
Beal, who possessed a no-trade clause in his contract, constantly found himself in trade rumors towards the end of his tenure with Phoenix.
“Until one of them come say something to me or talks to me, it’s just out there. I’m a Phoenix Sun and I’m here and I’m in the uniform,” Beal said last December. “I don’t pay attention to that. They did that with me for 10 years.”
Over the summer, the Suns traded Durant to the Houston Rockets and quickly after reached a contract buyout with Beal, allowing him to hit the open market. As part of the deal, Phoenix will pay Beal $99 million over the next five seasons.
“He’s a great guy,” Suns owner Mat Ishbia told Sirius XM NBA Radio after the move happened. “Just not a fit with the Phoenix Suns going forward. We told him that. We made that decision. We let them know we wanted to move forward without him. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad guy. It doesn’t mean he’s a bad player.”
Beal quickly inked a two-year, $11 million deal to play in Los Angeles. He’s already missed three games to start the 2025-26 season.
When he has played, Beal averages eight points per night to pair with one rebound and 1.5 assists. He’s expected to be on a minutes restriction tonight.
