Five-time All-Star point guard John Wall hasn’t given up on his NBA dream, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
The 6’3″ Kentucky product hasn’t played in the NBA since a brief, 34-game stint with the Clippers in 2022/23, but he continues to put in reps at the University of Miami, near his Miami offseason home, staying in game shape.
“It’d mean the world,” Wall said of a potential return to the league. “You want to go out on your own terms. I want to finish it the way I want. If I play my last game, I want to walk off the court my way.”
The 34-year-old was recently on hand at the G League’s Orlando Winter Showcase this weekend. Last year, he auditioned for attendant NBA franchises during the Winter Showcase. This season, he made his broadcasting debut, calling a pair of G League games.
“I was here last year working out for a couple teams,” Wall said. “I was on the other court, working out before games. That was fun. This was fun.”
Wall was selected with the No. 1 overall pick out of a loaded Kentucky class in 2010 by the Wizards. A nightmare in the open court, he developed as a passer and jump shooter en route to making five straight All-Star teams from 2014-18. During those five prime seasons, Wall averaged 19.9 points, 9.9 dimes, and 4.4 boards per night, with a shooting line of .436/.340/.787.
An Achilles tendon tear in 2019 forever changed his career trajectory. After sitting out the entire 2019/20 season, Wall was eventually traded to the Rockets ahead of the 2021/22 season. He agreed to a contract buyout with Houston in the summer of 2022 and subsequently signed with the Clippers.
Wizards or Pelicans need John Wall?
76erz need John Wall only if both PG and Maxey are injured.
Somebody try telling me that Eric Gordon deserves to be in the League while Wall watches from the outside
I wont lie, I’d rather see my Wizards bring him back to book end his career than see a combination of Poole/Kuzma/Brogdon just trying to put up numbers so they can be traded. Poole seems willing to get the younger guys plenty of looks as well, but once you have Kuzma or Brogdon out there with him, he kinda reverts back to “me” mode.