The NBA is a league where some of the most talented basketball players get the opportunity to showcase their talent on the court in front of fans who love the game just as much as them.
However, life in the NBA comes fast and at the end of the day, it's a business, especially when it comes down to team's front offices and their owners.
As NBA players get older and continue to battle injuries throughout their careers, the less value they hold to the franchises they've given their all to on a nightly basis. Unfortunately, former Wizards star John Wall learned this the hard way.
Fortunately for Wall, he's turned his hardship into another opportunity to showcase his knowledge of the game he loves.
John Wall has turned to broadcasting
John Wall was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards where he quickly became known as not only one of the best point guards in the league, but one of the top players across the NBA.
The Kentucky product spent nine seasons with Washington where he averaged 19 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds across 573 career regular season games. Wall lead the Wizards to multiple playoff runs and for awhile, he was one of the lone reasons that the Wiz remained competitive in a loaded Eastern Conference.
Unfortunately, throughout his journey in Washington, the talented playmaker dealt with multiple injuries that ultimately derailed his career. As his time in D.C. neared an end, he found himself involved in a blockbuster trade that sent Russell Westbrook to Washington and landed him with the Houston Rockets.
Wall spent one season in Houston where he showed flashes of his former self starting in all 40 of the games he played averaging 20.6 points, 6.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds. However, after contract issues resulted in a fractured relationship, the guard's time with the Rockets came to an end.
The former top overall pick then joined the Los Angeles Clippers in 2022 where he played in 34 games averaging 11.4 points, 5.2 assists and 2.7 rebounds before his NBA career seemingly fizzled out.
Now, as a free agent who doesn't seem to be gaining much interest on the open market, Wall has opted to turn his love and knowledge for the game into another career as he takes on the challenge of broadcasting.
The former NBA star spent his time broadcasting back-to-back games for the NBA G-League during the Winter Showcase; the same event he used last year to try out for teams interested in his services. This time, he used the event to test the waters of a broadcasting career.
Nonetheless, Wall hasn't shut the door on an NBA comeback as he believes he can still play at a high-level and would like the opportunity to end his career on his own terms.
"You want to go out on your own terms. I want to finish it the way I want. If I play my last game, I want to walk off the court my way."John Wall
Only time will tell what's in store for Wall moving forward, but as of now, his love for the game is leading him down the broadcasting path.