Bradley Beal warns other NBA teams ahead of next season: ‘The Phoenix Suns will be hungry’

New Phoenix star Bradley Beal, who has never overcome the second round of the playoffs in his 11-year career in the NBA, is convinced this will be the year he finally is able to compete for a championship as a Suns player.

The 30-year-old recently appeared on the cover of SLAM Magazine and talked about his new-found ambitions this upcoming campaign, warning other teams in the league that the Arizona franchise is hungry for a title.

“Expect a very fun team to be playing in Arizona this year,” he first said. “The Phoenix Suns will be hungry. We’ll be very aggressive, but it’ll be a very fun style of play that every fan will love—love to tune in to watch. So, we can’t wait. We’re excited. We have a lot of very talented guys, so we’re excited about it.”

HIT REFRESH.

Bradley Beal covers SLAM 245. https://t.co/MFDwDSlp6f pic.twitter.com/wEiMuzjglo

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) July 26, 2023

Phoenix will have a Big 4 in their roster, consisting of Beal, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton. Also, former coach Monty Williams was replaced by Frank Vogel, who hopes to bring his winning mentality after conquering the 2020 championship with the Los Angeles Lakers.

At first, the point guard admitted he thought his deal with the Suns included trading Booker to the Wizards. To say the least, he was impressed to find out that wasn’t the case.

“I was like, ‘Why are they trading Book?’ Like there’s no way that this is happening,” Beal confessed. “Like, this can’t be, this isn’t right. But fast forward, he’s here, I’m here and Kevin’s here and DA’s here.

“It’s surreal and crazy to think about how the deal even came to fruition, but it’s done and I’m in an awesome situation where I can compete every single night for a chance to win.”

Beal also revealed that he expects to return to his All-Star level of play this next season

During the interview with SLAM Magazine, Beal also went into detail about what are his personal ambitions for this next year, as he expects to return to his best version in Arizona.

“Oh man, it’s tough,” the player admitted. “I haven’t really thought about my own goals yet, but I would say the biggest individual piece is getting back to being one of the best two-way players in the League. Showing that I can really compete at a high level and play a meaningful game. You know, playing in the playoffs, winning in the playoffs, advancing past rounds.”

Phoenix acquired Beal from Washington last month in exchange for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet. The 30-year-old recently averaged 23.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists last campaign in 50 matches while shooting 50.6% from the floor, 36.5% from range and 84.2% from the free-throw line.

“Granted, I wanna get back to my All-Star level of play. I really believe that that’s who I am: All-NBA guy, All-Star guy,” he said. “And I have a good group that can push me to be that every single day. So I’m excited about that opportunity.

“I get to be around like-minded guys and guys who will push me to make sure that I’m the best version of myself every day.”