Bradley Beal Hits Back at Kent Bazemore for Hamstring Quip: ‘You a straight LAME!!!’

In Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: Beal and Bazemore’s war of words, Russell Westbrook’s history-making performance and more.

NBA players have the best feuds

Bradley Beal went off on Kent Bazemore on Monday night in response to a comment Bazemore made that Beal thought crossed the line.

Beal and Bazemore’s teammate Stephen Curry are locked in a close battle for the NBA scoring title. (After Monday’s action, Curry is leading with 31.9 points per game, while Beal is averaging 31.4.) Curry erupted for 49 points in 29 minutes on Saturday while Beal had 50 on the same night. Beal injured his hamstring in the performance and missed Monday’s game against the Hawks. He’ll also sit out Wednesday night’s game and his status for the final two games of the season is unclear.

Before Monday night’s game, Bazemore made a reference to Beal’s injury.

Bazemore said, “49 points in 29 minutes, though, that’s unreal. Then we got guys hurting hamstrings, trying to keep up. So, y’all gotta do some research on that.”

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Following the Wizards’ loss to the Hawks, Beal tweeted a question to his followers: “Should I let him live or really go off?” He went off.

Beal called Bazemore “a straight LAME!!!” and told him to “shut yo ass up” and hit him with a clown GIF.

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Bazemore responded by saying he was just joking and that Beal’s reaction didn’t bother him.

It wasn’t going to get in the way of him enjoying a few episodes of Peaky Blinders.

“I guess you can’t joke anymore. Whatever,” Bazemore said. “I don’t know man, I feel like I’m a pretty lighthearted guy. I stay in my own lane. I don’t say things to ruffle feathers. Hey man, if you want to know where my loyalty is, it’s to [Curry]. Anybody out there chasing him, it’s going to be tough. Whatever. It kind of got out of hand. I didn’t check my phone all day, so it’s kind of blowing up. I don’t get involved with that crap. Gonna go home, love my wife, watch some Peaky Blinders and go to bed. I got work to do tomorrow.”

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Bazemore’s comment might not have caused such a stir if it were directed at any player other than Beal. Those two have a history dating back to a 2017 playoff game when Bazemore was with the Hawks. Beal went up for a dunk and was pushed out of bounds by Bazemore, which sparked a shoving match between the two teams.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).