A short tweet, not even a photo: the NBA's No. 1 insider Shams Charania announced John Wall's retirement on Tuesday. At 34, the five-time All-Star had not set foot on an NBA floor since January 2023, and is leaving in total anonymity.
That is in stark contrast to his career. Well, what his prime was. In the mid-2010s, John Wall was a major NBA player. With a flattering reputation after a successful university career at Kentucky, he was selected first choice by the Washington Wizards, who had just put an end to the Gilbert Arenas era and were coming off two hideous seasons (which is why they were awarded the first pick).
Wall-Star
A spectacular player with above-average physical qualities, who attacks the rim relentlessly and is also a hell of a passer, averaging over 10 assists for three seasons in a row. Add to that his defensive quality, always quick to intercept, and a real ability to raise his game when the going gets tough (in 2017, for example, he went from 23 to 27 points on average between the regular season and the play-offs), and you have one of the most spectacular players of the 2010s.
Above all, you get a catchy nickname: Wall-Star. And the point guard would be the main architect of the Wizards' return to the top echelons of the East. This culminated in three conference semi-finals in four years, the last of which featured a famous seven-game duel with the Celtics, a series remembered for the trash talk it produced (and Kelly Olynyk's game 7).
A five-time All-Star from 2014 to 2018, John Wall was then at the top of his game and signed for the Wizards for more than $170 million. A trivial amount today, but huge for the time. Unfortunately, it was there that he was to suffer the pangs of injury. And it was here that his career finally took a turn for the worse.
Bad luck intervenes
For he has not been spoiled in terms of injuries. At the end of December 2018, he suffered a heel injury that forced him to end his season. Indeed, as his game is notably based on his explosiveness, it's impossible to take risks with the recovery. The problem was that the operation initially led to a post-operative infection, which delayed his recovery.
Then, just as this problem was resolved, he accidentally fell at home and ruptured his Achilles tendon. His 2018/19 season was already over, but the next one was already in jeopardy. His franchise, logically, fell in the Eastern hierarchy, despite the presence of Bradley Beal, who tried in vain to carry the Wizards single-handedly.
And when he can come back, Covid has been there. We don't really know why, but John Wall asked to be traded before the start of the 2020/2021 season, which had been postponed because of Covid. He was sent to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook, in what was described as a lose-lose swap between two huge contracts. Except that the only one to lose everything in the story was him.
Money often a bad choice
While Westbrook regained his value in the capital and earned the Wizards a handsome fee a year later, Wall arrived in Houston. He played a few games with James Harden before Harden forced his departure. Nevertheless, after almost two years without playing, his return was particularly surprising...
Although he no longer had the explosiveness that made him the player he used to be, he managed to vary his game to adapt to the criteria then in place in the NBA. Coming back from an Achilles tendon injury is complicated, as all the players who have suffered it say, starting with Kevin Durant, the most famous example of recent times.
But 40 games averaging 20.6 points and 6.9 assists is particularly encouraging, even if physically he doesn't seem to be up to it. He then made the worst decision of his career: putting money before sport.
At the end of the 2021 season, the Rockets officially entered the rebuilding phase. No more Westbrook, no more Harden, Houston drafted Jalen Green with the second pick of the draft, and for the coach at the time, Stephen Silas, the watchword was clear: make way for the youngsters. John Wall was warned that he would not fit into the plan. Either he would negotiate with management to leave, or he would spend the season in a suit in the stands of the Toyota Center.
At the time, John Wall still had a year left on his contract, plus a player option worth a colossal sum at the time of almost 48 million dollars. And he didn't want to give up that much money (even though he had already amassed almost $200 million in his career).
He will ask for a trade, quite logically, but nobody wants to take on such a big salary with no guarantees. And at no point will he try to get rid of his contract himself via a negotiated buyout, because he doesn't want to leave a single dollar on the table.
Was it the fear of missing out or the certainty that he would never earn as much money again in the future? Either way, he chose option 2, and spent a year watching the others play. All the efforts he had made to get back to his best were wiped out by this one decision.
A wasted end
At the end of the 2022 season, John Wall negotiated with the Rockets' board, pocketed his player option and returned to the court. The Los Angeles Clippers, on a mission to win the title (spoiler: it did not happen), jumped at the chance to have a five-time All-Star on the bench. But in a year in the stands, he has lost all of his charm. Estranged from the floor, out of rhythm, no longer physically capable of holding his own, he failed to make any real impact.
His adventure lasted just 34 games (even though he had signed for two years). The Clippers got rid of him before the trade deadline and, to add insult to injury, traded him... to the Rockets, who once again absorbed his contract... and then cut him!
His shadow now hangs over every transfer window. Declarations that he was ready, that he could help a contender. But little by little, his shadow disappeared.
Last February, he was moderately optimistic when he visited Draymond Green on his podcast. "I think I've got another year, maybe two. I still train every day. I always like to stay ready, work hard.... You never know what can happen, so I'm giving myself another year, next season, to see what happens. If it doesn't work out, then I'll be at peace with the idea of quitting."
Six months later... he quit.
Bad luck, bad decisions, injuries, despite the talent, the show, the incredible level. He retires with five All-Stars and a victory in the Slam Dunk Contest in 2014. No doubt too meagre a record for the Hall of Fame.
We can console ourselves with his highlights, which will nevertheless make us regret this disappointing end to his career. Because in today's NBA, at the peak of his powers, John Wall would have had his rightful place...