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Former Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Clippers level guard John Wall took to social media right this moment to announce that he’s retiring from the NBA after 11 seasons within the league. In his submit, he wrote, “Retired however by no means carried out. Doing it the #WallWay.”
“Immediately, I’m stepping off of the court docket, however not away from the sport,” Wall mentioned in a video he shared earlier right this moment. “Basketball will all the time be in my life, and new alternatives current themselves. I really feel now could be the time to stroll confidently into my subsequent chapter.”
John Wall rose to fame in highschool, the place he emerged because the top-ranked level guard within the Class of 2009. He wound up being the second-ranked highschool prospect total behind future NBAer Derrick Favors.
After being pursued by quite a few blueblood applications, John Wall introduced his dedication to the College of Kentucky alongside different high recruits like DeMarcus Cousins (#3), Daniel Orton (#19), and Eric Bledsoe (#44). In his lone season of school basketball, Wall helped the Wildcats go an NCAA-best 35-3 on their approach to a number-one seed in March Insanity. Nevertheless, Kentucky finally fell wanting the Championship after dropping to the West Virginia Mountaineers within the Elite Eight. Following a profitable one-year stint with Kentucky, John Wall declared for the 2010 NBA Draft, the place he was taken by the Washington Wizards with the primary total choose.
In his first professional season, John Wall was named to the 2011 NBA All-Rookie First-Workforce. He additionally completed second in Rookie of the 12 months voting behind Blake Griffin.
Within the years after, Wall confirmed continued enchancment earlier than being named to his first NBA All-Star Recreation throughout the 2013-14 season. He would make 4 extra All-Star Recreation appearances by the 2017-18 season. Throughout this All-Star stretch, Wall averaged 19.9 factors, 9.9 assists, 1.8 steals, and 4.4 rebounds per recreation whereas making 43.6% of his photographs.
After 2017-18, John Wall’s profession was affected by accidents. He solely performed in 32 video games for the Wizards throughout the 2018-19 marketing campaign earlier than his season was ended prematurely by a heel harm. Sadly for Wall, an incision from the surgical procedure didn’t heal correctly, which triggered him to overlook the whole lot of the COVID-19 season.
On December 2nd, 2020, Wall and a 2023 first-round draft choose had been traded to the Houston Rockets in alternate for Russell Westbrook. Wall performed in 30 video games earlier than his season was lower quick by a Grade-Two hamstring harm. After agreeing with the Rockets to take a seat out the 2021-22 season, John Wall’s contract was purchased out in June of 2022, permitting him to hitch the Los Angeles Clippers on a two-year deal. In February of 2023, Wall was traded again to the Houston Rockets earlier than being waived three days later.
John Wall retires because the Wizards’ all-time chief in assists (5,282) and steals (976). He additionally ranks within the high ten in franchise historical past in video games (eighth), minutes performed (fourth), factors scored (fourth), and area targets made (seventh).
John Wall’s legacy
There’s a shot that John Wall makes the Corridor of Fame. In response to Professional-Basketball-Reference, Wall’s probabilities to make the Corridor of Fame are available at 32.39%, which is twenty fifth amongst all lively gamers. Contemplating he mainly has a one in three likelihood to sometime be enshrined within the Professional Basketball Corridor of Fame, it’s secure to say that John Wall had a stellar profession.
Although he didn’t expertise a lot profitable throughout his profession, John Wall helped the Wizards return to relevance. Through the ten seasons he spent with Washington, he led the Wizards to the postseason 4 occasions, leading to three playoff sequence wins.
Within the annals of Washington basketball historical past, John Wall is up there with a number of the all-time greats. Corridor of Famer Wes Unseld takes the highest spot as the perfect participant in Washington Wizards historical past. He holds a number of franchise data, together with video games (984), minutes performed (35,832), and complete rebounds (13,769), and he led the Wizards to their lone championship in 1978. Proper behind Unseld is fellow Corridor of Famer Elvin Hayes, who’s Washington’s all-time main scorer and was named to eight straight All-Star Video games within the 9 seasons he spent with the staff. After these two guys, there are a number of totally different guys who’ve a case to be thought-about the third-best participant in Washington Wizards historical past, however I believe that honor belongs to John Wall.
Although he performed his finest basketball from the ages of 23 to twenty-eight, John Wall might be remembered for the enjoyable and dancing he dropped at Kentucky in faculty and Washington after he was drafted. When speaking about John Wall, his unmatched velocity on the court docket and his playmaking capability as a passer will all the time be the primary issues talked about, together with being some of the thrilling gamers of the 2010s.
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