Since Michael Beasley was drafted, his NBA career has been mostly disappointing. But the former No. 2 overall pick, now with the New York Knicks, feels that in terms of talent, he matches up with future Hall of Famers like Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
“As far as talent-wise, I match up with Kevin [Durant], LeBron, I match up with the best guys in the world,” Beasley said, via Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report. “I’m not being cocky; it’s just always how I felt. But I got into trouble as soon as I got into the NBA, and it left a bad taste in a lot of people’s mouths.”
Well, we can’t say that Beasley lacks confidence. That’s for sure.
Beasley has certainly had his moments throughout his basketball career. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2009. In the Chinese Basketball Association, he made two All-Star Games (2015, 2016) and won the game’s MVP both times. He was also the league’s Foreign MVP in 2016.
But the Knicks are his fifth different NBA team. He’s played for one of those teams — the Miami Heat — three different times.
There’s unquestionably talent there. He’s averaged as many as 19.2 points per game in an NBA season and in 2016-17, put up 9.4 points a night while averaging only 16.7 minutes per game for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Still, even that’s a long way from matching up to the likes of Durant and LeBron. We admire Beasley for his confidence. But we need to see it happen on the floor.