Next NBA season will see spotlight shift on John Wall and he knows it – NBA Update
When John Wall was drafted to the Washington Wizards with the number 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, it seemed as if a new era was in the making for the team.
Wall is not only an extremely talented basketball player, but also has that air and persona about him that helps payers become the faces of franchises and usher them in new eras of popularity and success. We have seen that happen
with the like of Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, LeBron James and most recently Derrick Rose.
Wall, being a point guard, had the opportunity to rise to the same status.
However, two years into the league and Wall does not seem to have made it to the position he was expected to reach. The one guard averaged 16.4 points and 8.3 assists per game in his first season with the Wizards. Last season,
he averaged 16.3 points and 8 assists per game, not showing considerable improvement for a player in his sophomore year.
He has work to do on his jump shot, and needs to be scoring more points on a regular basis if he wants to be the leader of the offense with the Wizards.
Wall realizes that and knows that his window of opportunity may be closing already, with him beginning his third year next season.
In an interview to Dime Magazine, Wall said:
“You wanna do it all. You wanna be an All-Star. You wanna be one of the top five best point guards. You wanna make the playoffs, and get this city back to where they know they can be. When you have the playoffs, I heard how crazy
it could be when everybody is wearing all white. That’s what I want to get to. I want to be the savior.”
Wall may credit his inability to become a rising star even after two seasons to the fact that he played for the Wizards, who have not been a playoff team for some time now. In addition to that, the point guard entered the locker
room of the Wizards at a time when Gilbert Arenas was the dominant personality.
He was suspended from the NBA in Wall’s first season, and Wall never got an atmosphere that nurtures talent and develops players. But, for a counter argument, number 1 draft picks usually land on teams that are in the lower echelons
of the NBA and what makes a player a star is his ability to help in the rebuilding process of the team and restore it to its glory days, like Rose did with the Chicago Bulls.
Wall now looks ahead to next season, knowing that it is an important one for him if he wants to achieve his goals and aims.
The Wizards have added some good players around him and can become a playoff contender. However, it is now up to Wall to show the maturity to rise to the challenge and take his place as the face of the club, otherwise his time
may go by without him fully reaching his potential.
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