5-Time All-Star Eyeing Surprising NBA Comeback Attempt

Will a team take a chance on this former standout?

Dec 19, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center DeMarcus Cousins (0) talks with Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) after the game at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images / Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Former five-time All-Star NBA point guard John Wall is looking to make one more NBA comeback bad.

Per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press, Wall continues to stay in game shape while working out at regularly at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, near his Miami home.

“It’d mean the world,” Wall, now 34, said of a final NBA opportunity. “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.”

Ever since suffering a career-altering Achilles tendon tear in 2019 while he was still with the Washington Wizards, Wall has been somewhat snakebitten. As Reynolds observes, he's played in just 74 games following the ailment.

At last year's G League Winter Showcase, the Kentucky product was working out for NBA clubs and their NBAGL affiliates, angling for his next pro shot.

“I was here last year working out for a couple teams,” Wall said. “I was on the other court, working out before games. That was fun. This was fun.”

At this year's event in Orlando, however, Wall sat in the broadcasting booth for the first time as an analyst, sitting in on a pair of games back-to-back on Saturday.

“I’m always going to critique myself,” Wall said of his performance as a broadcaster. “I can get a lot better. I’m learning more and more, but for me, it’s talking about basketball — what I love to do. It’s what I do when I’m home, watching with my friends and kids.”

During his prime with the Wizards, Wall was an absolute speed demon, part of a cadre of blitzing young lead ball handlers during the early 2010s, alongside fellow superstars Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose. He made five consecutive All-Star clubs in D.C., and came within a hair of advancing to the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals on a 49-win squad alongside fellow All-Star guard Bradley Beal. But eventually, his knees caught up with him. He had dealt with nagging ailments before, but had dual knee surgeries in 2016 were his first big brush with basketball mortality.

“You do all you can to take care of yourself, and injuries are still part of the game of basketball,” Wall said. “Yeah, I think about that. The time I had, I enjoyed. I get frustrated at times. But God don’t make no mistakes.”

Across his five All-Star seasons, he logged averages of 19.9 points on .436/.340/.787 shooting splits, 9.9 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks. Teams probably shouldn't hope for that kind of production again, but he may still be able to serve as a useful veteran presence off the bench.

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