Speaking at the Los Angeles Clippers' media day on Monday, Tyronn Lue expressed that he and the coaching staff are challenging Bradley Beal in this upcoming season, and that they want him to be "the elite defender he's been in the past."
Now, this is going to come off as a bit of an audacious statement to begin with. Beal's defensive rating for his NBA career is 112.5, which is respectable but I don't think most people would consider it to be elite.
This past season in Phoenix, the Suns' team defense was among the weakest in the league, registering a 117.7 defensive rating for the season. The team's defense was statistically better with Brad on the floor, but that overall team output makes one question how much of a positive impact Beal really had.
I would say the eye test also doesn't do Brad a ton of favors in this department either. Typically, to be considered elite, a defender would need to consistently show the ability to be a difference maker in on-ball defense, discipline defending off the ball, making proper rotations, and being able to guard at multiple positions. These are all areas where Beal has at least shown inconsistency in the past.
Ty Lue says the Clippers are challenging Bradley Beal to be “the elite defender he’s been in the past.”
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) September 29, 2025
Beal's defensive impact has been spotty in the past
We also have to consider the verbiage being used here. The difference between a "strong defender" and an "elite defender" is something that most would consider to be a large gap. Very few wings scorers reach this category, so this is truthfully asking a lot from Bradley Beal.
With Beal now sitting at 32 years old, we know that defensive decline is usually pretty common in players of his age group. On top of that, injuries typically reduce players' mobility and recovery speed, and these are characteristics that the best defenders would want to have.
With that being said, it's reasonable to assume this is going to be a very difficult task for Brad to take on. Especially considering he's adapting to a new defense, new schemes, and a new coaching staff that's going to make this transition all the more difficult.
It's obvious that Lue making this statement was an instance of a coach sticking up for his player and challenging him a healthy way. We would all agree that Brad being a plus defender would significantly help this Clippers team. With that said, asking him to play truly elite defense may set him up for criticism in the end.