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Point guard Bradley Beal’s tumultuous first season with the Los Angeles Clippers is coming to an early end.
It is, alas, painful business as usual for Los Angeles Clippers point guard Bradley Beal.
Per Shams Charania of ESPN, the three-time All-Star has been diagnosed with a hip fracture that will require season-ending surgery. It’s the latest medical setback in the career of Beal, who has not played more than 60 games in a season since 2018-19.
“We met with numerous doctors and specialists around the country in collaboration with the entire Clippers medical staff over the last few days,” Beal’s agent Mark Bartelstein said in Charania’s report. “[We] came to the decision unanimously that the surgery will allow Brad to have a full and complete recovery.”
Just in: Los Angeles Clippers guard Bradley Beal has a fracture in his hip and will undergo season-ending surgery, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/XrwyOTUdOo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 12, 2025
Thus ends Beal’s first season with the reeling Clippers (3-7) after signing a two-year, $10.9 million contract in SoCal over the offseason. The latter season on that deal is a player option, which means his Clipper career could be over before it ever truly got started.
Seeking to reclaim the narrative of his pro career after a brutal ending in Phoenix, Beal was averaging 8.2 points and 1.7 assists in just over 20 minutes per game for Los Angeles, by far the lowest numbers of his career across the board. The third overall pick of the 2012 draft was coming off a disappointing two-year tour with the Phoenix Suns, one that began with a hefty trade with his original employers, the Washington Wizards, to acquire his services to work alongside Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.
Bradley Beal: A Career Defined by Injuries and Inconsistency
Injuries and inconsistency wound up defining Beal’s time in the desert, which hit its nadir when he was removed from the starting lineup for Ryan Dunn. Phoenix bought his contract out after, allowing him to sign with the Clippers.
“It’s probably going to be a big ‘what if?’ story forever,” Beal said of his Phoenix tenure last week, per Kellan Olson of Arizona Sports. “But at the end of the day, everybody has a story, everything happens for a reason, and I’m excited with where I am, and I’m sure Book’s excited for his team, and I’m sure [current Houston Rocket Durant] is excited for his situation.
“It is what it is. Can’t be upset about it, can’t be mad about it. As a fan, I’m sure you’re mad and upset. Internally, I’m sure we are too. We had high goals and expectations, too. Chips fall where they do sometimes.”
“Get healthy. More than that, just keep playing. It’s going to come.”
Bradley Beal on getting back his best after a 5-point night on 2-of-14 shooting in Clippers loss to Suns.
On having belief it’ll come around: “We wouldn’t be pros if we couldn’t be mentally tough enough to… pic.twitter.com/bbuYq8QDaQ
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) November 7, 2025
Beal, in a macabre irony, played his final minutes against the Suns: he shot 2-of-14 from the field in a loss in the Valley last Thursday, which saw him receive a rude welcome back from Phoenix fans. Beal would later leave a Saturday rematch early with a hip injury, scoring 12 points in the Clippers’ 114-103 defeat.
The struggles of Beal are the latest hurdle the Clippers have to overcome, as LA has dropped five in a row since a 3-2 start, creating the second-longest active losing streak in the Association. Life after Beal begins on Wednesday night when they host the Denver Nuggets at Intuit Dome (7:30 p.m. PT, FanDuel Sports SoCal).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
