Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal is one of the top players in the NBA today. However, he is not always as good as he is today.

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In a recent appearance on All the Smoke podcast, Beal opened up about head coach Scott Brooks showing some of the team's playoff games in 2017. Interestingly, the 26-year-old shooting guard was particularly critical of his play, even noting that he played like “trash.”

“It's amazing to watch. I hate watching it because it's like ‘I am f—ing trash.' I'm watching it and I'm like ‘why are you hesitating on your shots? Why you ain't shooting? Why you ain't pass it right there?'… That dude from three or four years ago, that is not me today. I know that for sure,” the Wizards guard said (h/t NBC Sports Washington).

Bradley Beal, who averaged 23.1 points and 3.5 assists per game in the 2016-17 season while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 40.4 percent from 3-point range, is pretty hard on himself for doing what many would consider a good job over the stretch of a season against professional opponents. However, the kernel of the criticism the former third-overall pick shared was how he was playing within the game.

For what it's worth, Beal emphasized he's a different basketball player today than from three seasons ago — less hesitant to shoot or pass and instead knows how the make the best decision at the moment.

Beal was selected to two straight All-Star Games in 2018 and 2019, but he was left off the elite team in 2020 despite averaging career high in points per game (30.5) with the Wizards. However, one thing is clear: he is way better than he was some three or four years ago.