When NBA ‘experts’ or pundits talk about the Washington Wizards, John Wall and Bradley Beal almost immediately become the topic of conversation. After winning 44 games and beating the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Wall and Beal are becoming household names and expectations have inevitably risen for the team as a whole.

Prior to making the playoffs and actually having some success in the postseason, John Wall was often criticized for not taking “the leap” and helping his club achieve team success. Now that Wall is coming off a season where he averaged 19.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game, leading the league in total assists and making the NBA All-Star team for the first time in his career, the pressure is off of him and people are finally starting to realize how much he has developed throughout the course of his four year career.

John Wall had his breakout this past season, but now it’s time for Bradley Beal to take that same step this upcoming season. Bradley Beal is often mentioned in the discussion of best young players in the NBA, but I think he has the tools to become one of the most complete shooting guards in the NBA in his third season.

Bradley Beal averaged just over 17 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game last season, but really stepped up in the NBA playoffs, averaging 19.2 points, 5 rebounds and 4.5 assists against two of the best defensive teams in the NBA–Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls.

Although the Washington Wizards have been stellar defensively ever since Randy Wittman took over for Flip Saunders, their offense has never really been spectacular. The Wizards aren’t a very efficient offensive team, relying on mid-range jump shots for a large chunk of their offense, which causes players’ percentages to suffer as a result.

Beal has been known as a three point shooter for most of his basketball career, but in order for him to take the next step, he has to become better at creating offense for himself, which he’s finally starting to do. Beal shot just under 42% from the field during the regular season, a percentage that’s reflective of settling for mid-range shots, but we’ve seen him start creating shots off the dribble for himself more often, especially during the playoffs.

Bradley Beal is no longer a rookie, meaning that teams have learned how to defend him, making his job a lot harder offensively. With that said, Bradley Beal has dealt with a lot more adversity during his three years in the NBA than most budding stars have. Beal has suffered through a few concerning injuries, was forced to carry the team offensively when both Wall and Nene were out during his rookie year and played through a lot more losses than he could have expected coming out of his freshman year of college. It’s important for him to improve his ball handling, and heading into his third season, I think we’ll see him take the next step towards the All-Star level.

Now that Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo are back, Lance Stephenson will play a bigger role, and Dwyane Wade will likely return to being a top option in Miami, the Eastern Conference will be stacked with very solid guards. Bradley Beal has to separate himself from the players with ‘potential’, and now that the team has gotten an increased amount of attention from the national media, he’ll have a platform to do just that.

It’s been a long time since the Washington Wizards came into a season with higher expectations than they had in the year prior, and much of their continued success will be determined by the growth of John Wall and Bradley Beal. We’ve seen players improve drastically from year-2 to year-3, and I can’t wait to see how much Bradley Beal has improved throughout the summer, especially since he’s had the chance to practice and compete with some of the most talented players in the league during USA Basketball camp.

If all goes according to plan, the Washington Wizards’ back court could share the floor together during All-Star weekend. Before that happens, Bradley Beal will have to take his game to another level, which could happen this upcoming season.