John Wall


Johnathan Hildred Wall Jr. is an American former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association.
A Raleigh, North Carolina, native, Wall was chosen with the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards after playing one year of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Wall, who played the point guard position, was a five-time NBA All-Star from 2014 to 2018 and was named to the All-NBA Team in 2017. However, he experienced multiple injuries in 2019 and missed more than two years of basketball before being traded to the Houston Rockets in December 2020. After two seasons with the Rockets, he joined the Clippers via free agency before being dealt back to the Rockets, with which he reached a buyout in February 2023.

Early life

Wall was born on September 6, 1990, to Frances Pulley and John Carroll Wall Sr. When he was a year old, his father, who had previously served time in prison for second-degree murder, was convicted of armed robbery. Wall Sr. was released from prison on August 24, 1999, but died of liver cancer a month later at age 52. Wall's older half-brother, John Carroll Wall Jr., promised at their father's funeral to take care of the family, but was incarcerated the next year and released in 2018.
Throughout Wall's childhood, his mother worked multiple jobs to support him, his sister, Cierra, and his half-sister, Tonya.
The death of his father caused Wall to frequently reject the authority of adults and act up, occasionally fighting, mostly in middle school. He was cited for breaking and entering as a teenager.
Wall played for two AAU basketball teams, first Garner Road and then D-One Sports.

High school career

Wall played his first two years of high school basketball at Garner Magnet High School in Garner, North Carolina. After his second season, his family moved to Raleigh, where he repeated his sophomore year. Despite having a very impressive tryout, Wall was cut from the school's varsity team for attitude-related issues. For this reason, he transferred to Word of God Christian Academy, also in Raleigh. It was there that Wall set about the reform of his attitude and related issues. Coach Levi Beckwith worked with Wall, first to stop demeaning his teammates for missed layups, and later to improve his facial expressions and general demeanor.
On the heels of his second sophomore year of high school, in the summer of 2007, Wall was invited to the prestigious Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia; there, he distinguished himself by scoring 28 points against a team that featured future lottery pick Brandon Jennings.
In 2008, Wall played in the Elite 24 Hoops Classic, at which he scored 10 points and won co-MVP honors alongside Dominic Cheek, Maalik Wayns, and Lance Stephenson.
As a fifth-year senior in 2009, Wall averaged 19.7 points, nine assists, and over eight rebounds for Word of God Christian Academy and was ranked one of the best high school basketball players in the class of that year. He led the Holy Rams basketball team all the way to the North Carolina Class 1A state championship; they were ultimately defeated by United Faith Christian Academy 56–53. Wall scored 11 points in the contest. He was selected to participate in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon; he scored 13 points to go along with 11 assists and five steals at the high-profile event. He was also selected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic that year at Madison Square Garden, where he notched six assists.

College career

Originally recruited by the University of Kentucky, Duke University, Georgia Tech, and University of Kansas, Wall announced his commitment to attend the University of Kentucky on May 19, 2009. He was suspended by the NCAA from Kentucky's first exhibition game and first regular season game for travel benefits he received from his AAU coach Brian Clifton, a certified agent at the time. In his first action as a Wildcat, in an exhibition game against Clarion University of Pennsylvania, the freshman point guard led his team to victory with 27 points and nine assists in 28 minutes of playing time. In his collegiate debut at Kentucky versus Miami University, Wall made the game-winning shot with.5 seconds left on the clock to help then #5 ranked Kentucky win. He finished with 19 points, two rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
On December 29, 2009, against Hartford, Wall set the Kentucky single-game assist record with 16, 11 in the first half, with only one turnover. The mark was previously held by Travis Ford, at 15, and was broken on Ford's 40th birthday. Wall scored nine points, failing to break double digits for the first time in his college career.
Over the course of the 2009-2010 season, Wall led the Wildcats in scoring, assists, and steals en route to a SEC regular season and SEC tournament championship, a 29-2 regular season record, and an Elite Eight tournament appearance.
On September 22, 2017, Wall was inducted into the University of Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame.

Professional career

Because Wall was a fifth-year high school senior in 2009 and would turn 19 by the end of the year, some sources argued that he would be eligible for the 2009 NBA draft. League rules stated that American players must turn 19 during the year of the draft and be a year removed from their regular high school class. NBA spokesman Tim Frank told sportswriter Chad Ford that the league was not sure whether Wall met the second criterion, and that league officials would need to "do due diligence to determine his eligibility". Wall announced in April 2009 that he was not entering the 2009 NBA draft, where he was expected to be the first player taken, and would attend Kentucky instead.

Washington Wizards (2010–2020)

On April 7, 2010, Wall announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2010 NBA draft, where he was expected to be the first overall selection for the Washington Wizards. On May 3, Wall signed with agent Dan Fegan.
On June 23, 2010, Reebok revealed Wall as its latest signing, casting him as the face of its latest basketball shoe, the ZigTech Slash. On June 24, 2010, Wall was drafted as the first overall pick by the Wizards. On June 25, 2010, Mayor Adrian Fenty of Washington, D.C., declared June 25 John Wall Day on a plaque handed to Wall during his Wizards presser.

All-Rookie honors (2010–11)

Wall was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2010 Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 23.5 points, 7.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 32.3 minutes per game. Wall made his NBA debut in a 112–83 loss to the Orlando Magic. He had 14 points, nine assists, and three steals. In his third game, his first home game, he tied a franchise record with nine steals, and became only the second player in NBA history to get nine assists or more in each of his first three games. On November 10, Wall recorded his first career triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists to go along with six steals and only one turnover. Wall was the third youngest player to record a triple-double in NBA history. John Wall was named 2011 Rookie Game MVP during the 2011 All-Star Weekend. Wall was also named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month from January–April and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind unanimous selection Blake Griffin and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.

Sophomore season (2011–12)

Wall would play in and start all of the Wizards' 66 games during the 2011–12 lockout shortened season. He was selected to play in the NBA All-Star Weekend Rising Stars Challenge. He was drafted to play for Team Chuck, a mix of rookies and sophomores. Wall finished the season averaging 16.3 points, 8.0 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Knee injury (2012–13)

Wall missed the beginning of the 2012–13 because of a knee injury. On January 12, he returned against the Atlanta Hawks, scoring 14 points in a Wizards win. On March 18, Wall was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played between March 11 and March 17. In a road game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 22, Wall recorded 24 points and a career-high 16 assists in a win. On March 25, in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Wall scored a career-high 47 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Wall ended the season with averages of 18.5 points, 7.6 assists, and 4.0 rebounds a game.

First All-Star and playoff appearance (2013–14)

On July 31, 2013, Wall, labeled by the Wizards as a designated player, signed a five-year contract extension worth approximately $80 million.
On January 22, 2014, Wall recorded his second career triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 113–111 overtime loss to the Boston Celtics. On January 30, 2014, Wall was selected as an East reserve for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game, making this his first All-Star team. During All-Star weekend, he became the first in Washington franchise history to win the Slam Dunk Contest after fans voted him the Dunker of the Night. His final dunk was a reverse slam assisted by the Wizards' mascot. On February 27, 2014, Wall had 31 points and nine assists as the Wizards won a triple overtime game against the Raptors 134–129. It was the franchise's first triple-overtime game since 1975. On March 1, 2014, Wall recorded a then career-high 16 assists, along with 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals, in a 122–103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Wall averaged 19.3 points, 8.8 assists, and 4.1 rebounds on the season as the Wizards finished as the fifth seed in the East and qualified for the playoffs for the first time in six years. They went on to defeat the Chicago Bulls 4 games to 1 in their first round playoff matchup. After defeating the Bulls, Wall and the Wizards lost in the second round to the Indiana Pacers in 6 games.