Wizards Career Proves John Wall Made Teammates Better

You may have noticed former Wizards guard John Wall trending recently after comments made about his impact on teammates over the course of his career. Those comments drew responses quickly from both NBA fans and players, including Wall himself.

Colin Cowherd, who many noted has never been a fan of Wall, claimed Wall doesn’t make his teammates better on the court. He made this comment as he spoke about the impact Draymond Green has on his team, which in itself is true, Green makes players around him better.

Nothing that was mentioned about Wall, or even fellow former Wizard Russell Westbrook, is remotely true, though. There’s no reason to drag other players in order to compliment Green, especially when that dragging is simply incorrect.

Wall, a former first overall selection, quickly became one of the game’s best point guards. Both as a scorer and distributor he was one of the best guards in the entire NBA. While his stats alone prove that, they don’t flat out state his impact on those around him. Maybe that’s why Cowherd doesn’t understand the effect Wall had on his teammates.

On the court, it’s quite easy to understand how he made players better. There’s also a long list of players that support that with their production while playing with Wall.

He was always a special distributor and his ability to attack the rim made it that much easier for him to help his teammates find open spots on the floor. As a willing passer, it helped big guys get easy looks at the rim and shooters to get open shots from the perimeter all throughout his career.

His gravity alone allowed players to play better. Better looks and easier opportunities lead to higher percentages and increased scoring numbers.

The list of players that Wall made better on the court is pretty long. It would be hard to give the entirety of it but it’s quite easy to point out a number of players that prove Cowherd’s take was flat out wrong.

Wall doesn’t make his teammates better? Ask Marcin Gortat, Martell Webster, or Otto Porter Jr. how they feel about that statement. Or ask current Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma, if his tweet about the take didn’t answer how he feels about it.

John Wall Weighs in

The variety of people pushing back on Cowherd take is impressive. It includes John Wall himself, who kept it short with his response to the talk show host but the message was quite clear.

Wall has every right to be bothered by this type of narrative and responding is fair. His on-court play has always made teammates better and a number of young players who have played with him specifically talk up his leadership.

It’s not a debatable topic. John Wall deserves more respect than this.