Allow me to cut to the chase. John Wall is the greatest guard in Washington professional basketball history.
And that’s saying something.
While the best players in Washington Wizards history have predominantly been big men – Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes, Gus Johnson, etc. – this franchise has fielded some great guards. Gilbert Arenas. Earl “The Pearl” Monroe. Phil Chenier. Bammas all. (Not you, Phil.) John is better.
When the Wizards drafted John Wall with the first overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, they knew they were getting an incredibly rare talent – but they could not have known the type of competitor they were getting.
The diehard Wizard fans, the ones who have watched Wall damn near every night for the past five years, have gotten to watch an intrepid kid from Raleigh grow from phenom to superstar, and now the world is getting to see the same thing.
John Wall is a championship point guard on a deeply flawed team, a baller of such immense talent and fire that he elevates his squad from also-rans to Eastern Conference contenders.
He fears nothing.
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He’s a bundle of joyous and unrestrained energy, flying up and down the court at a thousand miles an hour.
Few NBA players can combine such skill and polish with a hard edge and an attitude – John Wall will cross you up, score on you, block your shot and mean-mug you.
But we already knew this. We’ve been watching this kid for five years, after all. But for the first time, we’re finally seeing him prove it when it matters most, and boy is he proving it.
In our hyper-masculine sports culture, the surest ways to Cool Points are: 1. Stepping up big in the playoffs, and 2. Fighting it out through pain and injury. Stepping up big in the playoffs while playing through pain? Now that’s where legends are made.
Again, those of us that have watched John Wall these past five years aren’t really surprised.
The guy is a maniac soldier, nature’s answer to the Monty Python Black Knight who still wanted to scrap after getting all his limbs chopped off. From the moment we heard the news that his hand and wrist were shattered into trillions of tiny pieces, there wasn’t really much doubt that he would fight to get back onto the court.
And there wasn’t really much doubt that he would continue to ball, even with one functioning hand. Wall dropped 18 points and 13 assists in Game 1 after the injury, and seemed completely like his usual self with 15 points, 7 assists and 4 steals in Game 5.
Again, he has FIVE FRACTURES IN HIS HAND AND WRIST. Doesn’t matter. John Wall is not like us, and things like that don’t affect him.
He’s the best all-around point guard in the league. One of only two men to average a points-assists double-double, he’s also turned himself into an ace defender while casually flashing his ludicrous talent every single time he steps out on the floor.
But not only that, we’ve seen John Wall separate himself from the pack as a leader and as a competitor.
In his first go-around in the playoffs, he couldn’t hit a shot, and his inconsistency was a big reason why the Wizards fell in the second round – now, he’s owning the moment.
He wants it more than everyone else does. Whether the Wizards win, or the Wizards lose, they’re getting the absolute best that John Wall can give. How many other players in the league can you say that about? Three? Five?
And how many players in the history of this franchise can you say that about? Gilbert Arenas? I loved Gilbert – I, like many others of my generation, wouldn’t be the Wizards fan I am today without Gilbert – but he couldn’t pass, couldn’t play defense, and never played with Wall’s intensity. Among guards, Earl Monroe only had a few years at his best in Washington, same with Phil Chenier.
Meanwhile, John Wall continues to elevate himself to unseen heights, and barring catastrophe, he’s only going to get better.
He’s 24 now, at the beginning of his prime. The sky is truly the limit, and Hildred’s already chilling in the troposphere.
It’s amazing, even, that he’s gotten this far.
Wall was drafted onto a hopelessly dysfunctional team with a terrible coach, zero meaningful veteran leadership and a bunch of bonehead teammates. He had every reason to fail. Lesser men would have caved. But John Wall is not a lesser man.
Tonight, just sit back, relax and watch, truly watch, John Wall.
The way he soars down the court so fast it seems like everyone else is standing still. The way he makes his defender back off before nailing the elbow jumper in his grill. The way he looks a man in the eye after a chasedown block.
There’s nobody like him. In future years, when you glance up at the Verizon Center and see a big “2” hanging down from the rafters, these are the images that will come to mind.
He’s already the best guard we’ve ever seen in this city, and who knows what else he’ll be?