John Wall and his redemption season with the Houston Rockets

John Wall and his redemption season with the Houston Rockets

As the Washington Wizards walked off the court after losing Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals to the Boston Celtics, the future seemed bright.

The, at that time, four-time all-star point guard John Wall had just averaged 25.1 points and 10.3 assists per game for the series, which included a game-winning 3-point shot in Game 6, while his backcourt mate Bradley Beal averaged 24 points per game in that same series.

Wall was approaching elite territory within the NBA ranks, often having his name in the same company as Steph Curry, Kyrie Irving, and Russell Westbrook. As a “pure point guard,” Wall was seen as the best.

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From 2013-18, the Wall-led Wizards made the playoffs four out of five seasons, and in that five-year stretch, Wall was an all-star all five years and averaged 19.9 points, 9.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. His 3-point shooting had improved to 37 percent and until the middle of the 2017-18 season, his injury history was minimal.

Before the 2017 season. Wall signed a four-year, $170 million contract extension with the Wizards. He missed nine games early in the season with a knee injury, which would then force him to miss two months later in the season. During this season, Wall would become the youngest player in Wizards franchise history to score 10,000 career points.

Wall started the 2018-2019 season strong, averaging 20.7 points, 8.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in 32 games, before being ruled out for the rest of the season with a left heel injury. After the surgery, Wall developed an infection, and then suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon when he slipped and fell in his home.

As a player who boasted extreme athleticism and used incendiary speed to attack the rim, especially on transition possessions, Wall’s entire NBA future was in jeopardy, as he missed the entire 2019-20 season.

John Wall was counted out before given a chance

Before the start of the 2020-21 season, as the Wizards were continually being mocked for possessing one of the worst contracts currently in the league, Wall and a 2023 lottery-protected first-round draft pick were traded to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook.

The trading of the Wall contract proved that no contract is untradeable, especially if both sides are desperate for a change.

Wall missed the first two games of the season, before finally playing in an NBA game for the first time in just over two years. Wall scored 22 points and dished nine assists in 36 minutes of action. In his first seven games as a member of the Rockets, he averaged 18.6 points, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 45 percent from the field.

Even though the numbers are great, the most reassuring aspect was how he looked on the court. His speed was there and he still showed flashes of being a top-tier point guard.

Those first seven games that Wall played were overshadowed by the James Harden drama and what amounted to a blockbuster four-team trade that sent Harden to the Brooklyn Nets and Victor Oladipo to the Rockets.

Wall was then inactive for the next five games, before returning to play for the Rockets for the first time without Harden. Since the Harden trade, Wall has played in 11 of 13 games and averaged 20.9 points and 6.9 assists per game, which included a 29-point, 11-assist performance on Feb. 15 in his first game back in Washington since the trade.

His per-game averages can’t be scrutinized too closely and compared against his colleagues, especially since this is his first NBA action in two years and he’s on a team of misfits and outcasts, which include Christian Wood (who was in-house with the Detroit Pistons and was still not extended by them), DeMarcus Cousins and Oladipo.

What’s reassuring with Wall is the reliable “eye-test.” When you’re watching a player and your eyes are telling you what you see.

Wall is back.

But for how long? The three certainties in life are death, taxes, and explosive point guards breaking down when they turn 30, which Wall did before the season.

With modern science extending the careers of athletes, Wall can change his playstyle and become the floor general that is surrounded by more capable scorers. Wall is the all-time leader in blocked shots among players who are 6-foot-3 and under, so with other scorers around him, Wall can put forth more effort on defense.

It’s already a miracle that Wall is this good again, especially given his prior injuries. Ruptured Achilles tendons used to mean the end of a career, but now athletes are able to come back from those severe injuries.

The Rockets, although they’re currently on a seven-game losing streak, are only 1.5 games out of the play-in-tournament and can challenge the mid-tier teams in the Western Conference. Once this newly constructed team is together for a long stretch of games, this could be a team that gives trouble to other contenders in the Western Conference.

The four-man lineup of Wall, Wood, PJ Tucker, and Eric Gordon, having only played 62 minutes together, are +14.1 in Points Minus Opponent Points. Even though they’re losing, the Rockets are starting to click.

Wall was the clear No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. His career has already been noteworthy, as he’s known as one of the premier guards of the 2010s. The next stage of his career is beginning, and it starts with this redemption season.