John Wall says he could still walk into an NBA bench role and put up numbers - but don’t mistake that for a comeback plan.
In a conversation with Ashley Nicole Moss, the former Wizards star said he still works out, still thinks about playing, and still believes he could produce if called on. When Moss floated a hypothetical veteran-minimum return, with Wall coming off the bench for about 20 minutes a night, he didn’t hesitate.
“12-s7, easy.”
That kind of confidence fits the player Wall was for so long. Across 647 regular-season games, he finished his NBA career averaging 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 8.9 assists. His burst in transition made him a problem from end to end, and his passing created easy looks for teammates before they had to do much of anything on their own.
His peak came in 2016-17 with Washington, when he posted career highs of 23.1 points and 10.7 assists, along with 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals. That was the season he earned All-NBA Third Team honors and helped turn the Wizards into a tough playoff team. At that point, there were few guards around the league who could match his mix of scoring, playmaking, and pressure on defense.
The benchmark that lines up most closely with Moss’s scenario came in Wall’s final NBA season. With the Clippers in 2022-23, he averaged 11.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in 22.2 minutes per game over 34 appearances.
The points were in the neighborhood of what he said he could still deliver. The assists?
That would be a bigger jump.
Of course, there’s a difference between believing you can do it and doing it against NBA defenses after time away from the floor. But Wall’s answer was clearly about the hypothetical. He wasn’t announcing a return, and he wasn’t saying he’s chasing another roster spot.
The bigger thread in the conversation was Washington. Wall talked about his connection to the franchise and how watching the current Wizards has him imagining what his own prime would have looked like in that style of play. The run, the shooting, the athleticism - all of it made him think about how much fun that version of the team could have been.
He also explained why he never wanted to go hunting for the easiest ring.
“Like, I didn’t want to go chase because chasing don’t mean you always gonna win. And then do you get that love that you get from a place you’ve been for a long time?”
Injuries left plenty of what-ifs around Wall’s career, but his comments didn’t suggest he’s trying to reopen that chapter. He still believes the scoring and passing are there. He just doesn’t sound like someone eager to prove it to an NBA front office again.
In Other News...
Wizards Loss To Toronto Exposed A Problem They Still Havent Solved
The Wizards 112-102 loss to Toronto was another reminder that their offense can still get bogged down when a defense takes away the first option and forces the rest of the roster to manufacture clean looks. The Raptors made life difficult throughout, and Washington also came up short on the glass, leaving too many possessions on the table in a game that never really found a rhythm on the Wizards side.
Bub Carrington brought energy and defensive effort off the bench, continuing to carve out a more stable reserve role, but the overall scoring burden was still hard to balance. Anthony Davis also had a tough night, finishing with 9 points on 3-of-12 shooting, and for a team trying to find more reliable answers, nights like this keep exposing the same issue without providing a clear fix. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Have A Will Riley Problem They Can't Ignore
Will Riley entered his second season with some momentum after a promising rookie year and a strong showing in Summer League, the kind of early rsum that usually earns a young forward a bigger look. Instead, the 21st overall pick from 2025 has found himself on the outside of the rotation to start the season, a wrinkle that stands out even more because Washington is already without its top draft pick.
Head coach Brian Keefe was asked about Rileys limited role after a recent game, and the situation has become hard to ignore for a player the Wizards presumably want to keep developing. When a young forward with his profile is fighting just to find minutes, it raises questions not only about the current lineup decisions, but also about how Washington plans to balance short-term results with the long-term growth of one of its more intriguing recent additions. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Miss Out On A Debut Fans Wanted To See
The wait for AJ Dybantsas NBA debut will have to continue a little longer. The Wizards announced the No. 1 overall pick will miss their upcoming game against the Bulls because of a left ankle sprain, a setback that has kept him sidelined since Washingtons final preseason game and pushed his absence to three straight games.
For a team that already had plenty of attention on its young centerpiece, the timing is frustrating even if the injury is being treated as day-to-day. Chicago will still have to wait on the debut fans have been circling, while Washington keeps monitoring a situation that remains fluid heading into the next stretch of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]