John Wall
Teams
Washington Wizards - 2010-2019
Houston Rockets - 2020-current
Playoffs
Appearances - 4 (2014,2015,2017,2018)
Conference Finals - 0
NBA Finals - 0
Championships - 0
Awards and Honors
All-NBA First Team - 0 (2017)
All-NBA Second Team - 0 (2014,2015,2016)
All-NBA Third Team (2017)
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Assists Per Game - #7
Total Assists - #49
Steals Per Game - #52
Points Per Game - #91
League Leads
Total Assists (#1-2014, #2-2015, #3-2016,2017, #4-2012)
Assists Per Game (#2-2014,2015,2017, #3-2016)
Total Steals (#1-2017)
Steals Per Game (#2-2017)
John Wall played just one season at the University of Kentucky, but he knew going into that season that he was the likely #1 pick the following season, and he did nothing in college to change that, landing with the Washington Wizards at #1 overall in 2010.
Wall made an immediate impact, averaging 16.4 points and 8.3 assists per game, and only lost the Rookie of the Year award because the previous season's #1 pick, Blake Griffin, had not played in his first season, and had an amazing first season at the same time as Wall.
Wall missed the first chunk of his third season with a knee injury, but once he returned to the lineup, he hadn't lost a step. Over the next 4 seasons he was named an All-Star, but was overlooked when it came to the All-NBA Teams, finally making an appearance on the Third Team in 2017. That year, he led the league in steals and was #2 in both assists and steals per game, and he led them to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell to the Celtics in 7 games. That year is even more remarkable considering that Wall had surgery on both knees before the season.
Injuries had nagged at Wall through his first 7 seasons, but he hadn't missed a ton of games as a result, but that started to change in 2017-18. He started having trouble with his left knee again, and opted for midseason surgery, which caused him to miss 2 months. He returned in time for the playoffs, but it wasn't enough to stop the Wizards from falling in the first round.
The following season things really started to fall apart. He suffered a heel injury a couple months into the season, and season-ending surgery was required, but then the incision from the surgery became infected, and then he tore his Achilles while recovering from surgery at home. In ended up costing him a season and a half, and after he was finally recovered, he was traded to the Houston Rockets.
Scheduled rest and a hamstring injury cost Wall 32 games in his first season with the Rockets, but when he was on the court he showed that he was still the same player as before. He averaged 20.6 points, third-highest for a season in his career, and still dished out 6.9 assists per game playing for a terrible team. In all, he played in only 113 games over the last 4 seasons combined, but he is still only 30 years old and appears to have a lot left in the tank.
Wall is already in the top 50 of all time for assists, and his 9.1 per game for his career so far is #7 among all players ever. He is also in the top 100 in scoring and steals per game for his career, has led the league in assists and steals once each, and was consistently among the assist leaders for his entire time in Washington. Hopefully he is able to be fully healthy going forward so he can continue to build on what he's done so far, but he's done enough already to at least be mentioned alongside the other all-time greats.
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