It may now be more than a month since the Washington Wizards were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but Bradley Beal still feels the sting it left him and his team.

The 23-year-old shooting guard recently made his first public appearance since mid-May, when he once again hosted a hoops camp at a local high school in Virginia. He was seen all smiles around the kids who participated in it, however, when asked how he is, he jokingly said he’s still not over their Game 7 loss.

He also admitted, via Candace Buckner of The Washington Post, that he only watched the last game of the Finals, and that he’s currently focused on working throughout the summer and make sure he is in good shape once training camp starts.

“I was still mad about the Wizards’ Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals as an explanation for why he only watched the last game of the NBA Finals.

“Once the season was over and the Warriors won, it just is what it is. You just kind of move on from that point. Now you got to get ready for the next season, get ready for the offseason, get better,” Beal said. “I haven’t even touched the basketball yet so this is my first time actually being around basketball so what better way to start it than around a bunch of happy faces and kids that want to get better.”

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Despite averaging a career-high 24.8 points and 1.6 steals, together with 3.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists in the postseason, his efforts were not enough to beat the top-seeded Celtics team and advance to the Conference Finals.

This may be seen as a good sign for the D.C. faithful as Beal is showing that he is hungry to win more and that he wants to avenge the tough loss they suffered. His motivation may turn out to be what the Wizards need to make an even deeper run in the playoffs next season. It’s still early days in the summer though and a lot of moves are still likely to be made by teams as they try to improve their rosters, but with Beal making his thoughts known about how the defeat still hurts him, nothing short of his best can be expected him from him next year.