WASHINGTON — The path toward becoming a contender is usually littered with disappointing moments that can either come to define teams or provide inspiration. And over the past four years, the Washington Wizards have had times when they proved to be inexperienced or ill-prepared, when they’ve been victims of untimely injuries or their own hubris, and when they’ve come so close that the pain has pushed them to demand and expect more of themselves.

A Game 7 loss to Boston in the conference semifinals last May haunted the Wizards and especially Bradley Beal, who kept firing and connecting — to the tune of 38 breathtaking points — only to realize that his best wasn’t good enough to help a franchise on the fringe of finally breaking through.

“It definitely hurt. It hurt all summer,” Beal told The Vertical, “knowing that we could’ve been in the Eastern Conference finals and gave ourselves a chance to be able to compete in the Finals for the first time in a long time. It was a learning experience. We had never been in a Game 7 before. We know how to deal with it and approach it now. But I could care less about my points. I’d trade in a win for zero points any day. Hopefully, if I’m in that situation again, it’ll be a different result.”

The Wizards’ response to that heartache was to explain, simply and plainly, why the result was unacceptable. They felt they were the better team. They felt they would’ve given the Cleveland Cavaliers a serious challenge in the conference finals. Beal went so far as to claim Cleveland tanked in the final week of the regular season to avoid meeting the Wizards in the second round. Though the three-time defending conference champion Cavaliers either ignored or laughed off the comment as ridiculous, Beal has refused to backtrack. He said what he felt to be true.

“I feel like when we speak our minds, it’s just us being confident in ourselves,” Beal told The Vertical. “I’m not going to sit here and say it’s arrogance. There is a difference between arrogance and humility. We definitely have to be humble with our approach to the game and who we’re playing, handling success the right way … and handling adversity the right way. But I believe in my team and my teammates more than anybody else in the league. I’m confident every time on the floor we’re going to win the game.”

One of the best qualities of Washington’s professional basketball team is that its best players are frank to a fault. They are willing to say, without fear, what players on other teams might think. And they have no problem dealing with the sore rear ends that come when they can’t back up their big talk. But they are discovering through the early parts of this season that you can’t simply proclaim yourself the best and expect the rest of the league to comply. Nothing is given, even to those who feel entitled.

Embarrassing losses to the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix and Dallas — the latter two at home, no less — and a 57-point reminder from LeBron James and his “Long Live The King” sneakers to sit down and be humble has led the Wizards to reconsider their approach without relenting their confidence.

View photos John Wall and Bradley Beal remain one of the league’s most potent backcourts. (AP) More

“I think we’re kind of, I guess, stubborn and figure we’re a little bit better than what we are,” Beal told The Vertical. “We know what kind of team that we can be and that we want to be, but we’ve still got to go out and prove it. We still have to go out there and showcase what we’re capable of doing. And sometimes, I think we think it’s going to be a cakewalk and we’ll just walk out there and win games. We take for granted that everybody is a professional. Everybody is in the league for a reason. We kind of get too comfortable in our own skin and it comes back to bite us in the end.”

An inability to maintain focus has contributed to the Wizards losing games they should’ve won. They fell down carnival barker LaVar Ball’s trap door when he said his son, Lonzo, wouldn’t lose to the Wizards — first with Marcin Gortat responding that Wall would destroy the rookie, then with Wall saying he would show “no mercy” before the team blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead. They were up big against Golden State but couldn’t finish because Beal got ejected after whacking Draymond Green in the face, tangling with him and later tackling him in a jersey-ripping tussle. Beal received a $50,000 fine and a much more valuable lesson.

Story continues