Bradley Beal credits his mom for instilling his passion for basketball in childhood: “It was Ray Allen, look how big his calves are”

Current Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal has turned into one of the best players in the NBA. His mother, who has been a big part of his career, is who Beal gives credit for loving basketball.

A mother-and-son relationship is a special thing in the world, especially for some of the players in the NBA. There have been plenty of NBA players in the past that have come out and said that they love the game because of their mothers.

Bradley Beal spoke about how his mom was a big part of making him the player that he currently is:

"she (his mom) always taught me at a young age man having my mechanics and perfecting that every single day. Brad when you're not doing it somebody else doing it like that was pounded into my heart every single day, right, like having that drill sergeant mentality with my mom like that she is the best coach I've had.

"Like she literally put the ball in my hand, teached me how to shoot, hand placement, all that still to this day.

"And to have that accountability from her you don't understand it when you're young but as I got older I said you knew right she knew but all the credit go to her man and I still have the same routine same mechanics to this day but yeah she's still in my ass about it."

Bradley Beal then talked about the player that his mom was intrigued by and who she wanted him to be. The player happens to be one of the greatest 3-point shooters of all time in Ray Allen:

"It was Ray Allen, look how big his calves are so she made me do things. I'm running heels, I'm calf raises everything, just like Ray Allen like that what she wanted me to be."

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Bradley Beal's shared similarities with Ray Allen

It's tough to say that Bradley Beal and Ray Allen had many similarities on the court. Allen was an incredible athlete in the early stages of his career, which is something that many NBA fans seem to have forgotten about.

He could jump out of the gym when he played with the Seattle Supersonics and Milwaukee Bucks. On top of his insane athleticism, there's an argument to be made that he's the greatest three-point shooter to ever play the game.

Bradley Beal is also a star in his own right. The 29-year-old Beal has turned into what many believe is a top-20 NBA player in the game year in and year out.

The stats back up those claims as he's averaged 22.1 points per game in 660 career games. The numbers throughout the past few seasons have been special, averaging over 30 points per game in 2019 and 2020.

Beal has had to deal with several injuries throughout the past few seasons, playing in just 40 games in 2021. However, the guard has come back and has played in 16 games this season and is averaging 23.6 points per game and shooting 52.2% from the field.