With the clock winding down to zero and the score 129-112 in Philadelphia’s favor, it would’ve been easy for the Washington Wizards to get down on themselves. But after losing the series in Game 5, and reflecting on the season they’ve had, it was far easier for Bradley Beal to look at the positives. 

“We battled the whole year,” Brad said. “We didn’t start off the way we wanted to, it was frustrating all around, I was frustrated at times, but I’m very optimistic and I persevered through a lot of adversity, and I think we did that as a team.”

In the final game of the season, Brad was as productive as always, leading the team with a game-high 32 points and seven rebounds while hitting all 10 of his free throws, but the Sixers had a balanced scoring attack with six players in double figures that proved to be too much for the Wizards to handle. 

After the game, No. 3 told the media how proud he felt of his teammates for their efforts against one of the best teams in the NBA, and that they felt they had the talent to do even more damage. 

“Nobody expected us to take them to five,” Brad said. “I strongly in my heart believe we could have taken them to seven.”

Besides BB’s big game, the Wizards did get some strong play from second-year forward Rui Hachimura as well, who finished with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting as he wrapped up a promising playoff run that should give him confidence heading into Year 3. 

With the offseason now underway, Brad and the Wizards will look to build off this impressive year and carry their momentum into next season.