Bradley Beal on Injury: 'Beyond Frustrating'

Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal made a third entry into his public diary for Andscape and dove into the recent frustrations of his ankle ailment.

PHOENIX -- Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal recently published his third diary entry for Andscape alongside NBA reporter Marc J. Spears, allowing fans insight into his thoughts and head space throughout the 2023-24 season. 

Beal - currently out until January after being shut down by the Suns due to his ankle injury - called his injuries frustrating:

"Not being able to travel my teammates. Not being able to hoop like I want to. Not being available like that is beyond frustrating, man. It’s really hard to put in words. Your most gifted talent that you have is stripped from you. It is taken from you. And so, you’re like, what do you do with it? What do you do about it?" wrote Beal.

"And not just once, but twice. And not just twice, but three times, you know? So, it happens over and over and over again. And I think that’s kind of a frustrating thing, a frustrating state to be in. But obviously you try to find the positives in all that with the message that I’m trying to learn. I’m very faith-based and spiritual. So, God, what message are you trying to say to me? Is it to be patient? ‘You need just a few more days or a few more weeks to get past it, you’re not ready yet, or just be prepared for what’s happening on the back end.’ And you don’t know what story I’m writing, but it’s an amazing one in the mind.

"It’s a tough, tough space to be in, but I have a great support system. And my biggest thing is they help me through it all, the staying positive, man. Positive, positive, positive. Trust and believe in the work I put in for 12 years now. Trust in your routine every single day. You put in the work. You know what it takes to be good. You know what it takes to be on the floor. You know what it takes to just be available. So go do that and embrace every step that it’ll take to get there."

Phoenix's Big 3 of Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker have played collectively just once in the 28 regular season matchups already in the past. Beal himself has played in just six contests. 

It hasn't been just Beal that's been injured, as Booker and Durant have missed time on their own accord. 

Seemingly everybody on the Suns has preached patience when it comes to the overall health of the team. 

Beal echoed that sentiment:

"[Booker, Durant and I] did get one game. The Brooklyn game. We lost to Brooklyn. Brooklyn is a good team, too. Then our next game, we played the Knicks … and I got hurt three minutes, four minutes into the game. I come down on my foot and sprained my ankle, and here I am today," he wrote.

"But it’s a process, man. We all want it to happen. It is going to happen. I think our biggest thing is just being patient, making sure that we’re at our best. It does us no justice, does nobody any good if K [Durant] is not at his best, Book [Booker] is not at his best, and I’m not at my best. So, we got to take our time, get back right, get our mentals right, obviously, make sure our bodies are 100% or close to, and go out there and make it happen. 

"We know the world is frustrated. They want to see it just as bad as me, trust me. Nobody is more frustrated than me and aggravated as me. We’ll just keep chugging along, building our blocks, and hopefully we’ll be on the back end of this thing here soon."

The Suns host the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day.

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