Many expected the first-round series between the Phoenix Suns and the Minnesota Timberwolves to be a back-and-forth affair. Instead, it turned out to be a lopsided series in complete favor of Anthony Edwards and company, as Minnesota swept the Suns.
The Timberwolves' series win also gave Phoenix shooting guard Bradley Beal his first experience of getting swept. After Phoenix's Game 3 loss to the Timberwolves, Beal said that he would be “damned if that [sweep] happens” because he had not been swept until at least up to that point.
Two days later, the Timberwolves' social media team trolled Beal over that statement, as Minnesota took down the Suns in Game 4 on the road, 122-116.
More than that, the Timberwolves also took a swipe at the entire Suns squad with a hilarious update of their profile picture on X, which shows a wolf eating Phoenix's logo.
Suns' Bradley Beal roasted after letdown playoffs performance vs Timberwolves
Beal has been an easy target on social media after the series, and he did not help himself by having an atrocious performance against the Timberwolves altogether. Overall in the first round, Beal averaged only 16.6 points while connecting on just 44.1 percent of his shots from the field.
He only had one game in the series that can somehow justify his salary, and that was his 28-point outing in Game 3 in which he went 10/19 from the field and 6/10 from deep. However, Beal failed to sustain that form, coughing up just nine points on 4/13 shooting from the floor and 1/5 from behind the arc in Game 4.
What's making it worse for Beal's image after his debacle in the Timberwolves series is the fact that he played closer to a player on a two-way deal than someone who's actually going to earn over $50 million in the 2024-25 NBA season and $53.7 million in the 2025-26 campaign. He also has a $57.12 million player option for the 2026-27 season which he would most likely pick up.
“$160M owed to Beal over the next three seasons. No trade clause. Woo buddy,” said @DragonflyJonez on X (the social media platform formerly called Twitter).
From @PeeWeeDaPlug: “This Brad Beal performance is so bad I’m bout to call the league office.”
“Still think this series goes 6 if Beal is on Wizards,” Ryen Russillo posted.
“Beal is gonna be making 54M next year. Da NFL would legit hire a Hitman before they paid him dat money,” shared @JaiIpose.
“Bradley Beal said he wasn't gonna get swept and then showed us one the worst playoff performances ever,” said @4Cobey.
Minnesota moves on to the second round
Getting the job done in the first round the fastest way possible gives the Timberwolves some extra rest and preparation time before the Western Conference semifinal round. Up next for Edwards and the T'wolves is a matchup against the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Los Angeles Lakers series. That is likely going to be the defending NBA champions Nuggets, who are up 3-1 against LeBron James and the Purple & Gold.
Edwards led Minnesota in the Suns series with a spectacular 31.0 points per game average on a 51.2 field goal percentage.
The Timberwolves, who exited each of the last two playoffs in the first round, have taken 20 years to return to the second round, a feat last accomplished by the franchise in 2004 with Kevin Garnett leading the squad.
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