Credit: pba-online.net

As I sat there in Philips Arena in Atlanta back on April 28 th moments after Game 6 concluded and the Wizards had eliminated the Hawks from the Playoffs, it occurred to me I had just witnessed the best single game performance by a single player in any game I have been to in my life. John Wall came to Atlanta and shut down the series with a masterful performance of 42 points, 8 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks and backup of a guarantee that he told Falcons star receiver before the game. “I told them I was gonna get 35 or more and we was gonna win, and we did that”. His performance that night was unreal and it topped every performance I had seen from any player in a game I have been present at Philips for and that list includes the following: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Derrick Rose, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Paul Pierce, Paul George, and all Hawks players to play in my lifetime. That is saying something. There was narrative that was making the rounds in the 2 nd round series when the Wizards battled the Celtics and I thought it was interesting.

“John Wall has arrived here in the NBA”

“John Wall has made his name known now”

All due respect to those that quipped those remarks, but have they been under a rock for the last half decade? Because if you haven’t been watching the NBA in that time, you would not know that John Wall arrived a long time ago.

Credit: cbssports.com





It was long before his Game Winning Three in Game 6 against the Celtics, ages before his legendary performance in Game 6 vs the Hawks and it wasn’t all of a sudden, this has been an ascension since the night David Stern announced his name as the #1 overall pick in the 2010 Draft. Four Time All-star, All-NBA Team, NBA All-defensive team, 3 playoff series wins, MVP Candidate but wait… he is just now arriving? That may the most ridiculous narrative in NBA History. John Wall has been improving every year into one of the best point guards in the NBA. When asked by ESPN First Take on All-star weekend who the best point guard in the NBA is, he responded without hesitation “Me”. He posted career highs in points, steals, and assists per game as well as field goal percentage this year. Let us also address a ludicrous stat real quick; John Wall has averaged a double-double for the past 3 seasons and that is absurd. The second he hit that game winner against the Celtics, many coined it as the defining moment of his career. What about all the other times he has come up big and delivered? What about the fact that if he had not been injured in the 2015 series against my Hawks and missed 2 games, the Hawks likely lose that series and John Wall does battle with the Cavaliers and who knows what happens there.





Credit: fansided.com

Let us also address something I view as fact; John Wall is the best two way point guard in the NBA. His presence on both ends of the floor is unlike any other guard in the league and he had a plethora of game changing blocks, steals and defensive plays that back up that claim as well as the fact that he posted the highest defensive rating since his rookie year this season, while also posting a career high in offensive rating as well. This was John Wall’s 7 th season in the league, and he is only 26 years old. Did you just get goosebumps reading that? The entire NBA just did. Wall has been making a name for himself for a while now, and he has done it to his own drum. He hasn’t been the most hyped player by the media, oh the contrary, he actually has a seemingly endless gaggle of detractors that will line up every time he stumbles or supposedly doesn’t show up and say “He can’t be a leader in the NBA” or “He isn’t a star”.

Credit: CSN

T hese people need to wake up; John Wall is a superstar and he has been for a while now, it is just now some of them want to acknowledge that fact that he is after a career year. The Wizards are set to contend in the East for a while with the core of guys they have in the Nation’s Capital like his backcourt running mate Bradley Beal, who is only 23 years old, and who will be entering his 6 th season in the NBA next year, yikes. There is also guys like Otto Porter (Impending free agent), Markieff Morris, Marcin Gortat, and Bojan Bogdanovic who are going to help lead the Wizards for the next half decade and another news flash: Guys are going to want to play with John Wall, so get used to the Wizards being not only a focal point in the Eastern conference, but the entire NBA as a whole. It took legendary seasons from Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard to keep Wall out of the thick of the MVP discussion, but that won’t continue and neither will this narrative that Wall is just now getting here and reaching his potential. John Wall has proved detractors wrong since day 1 and he will continue to do it until he finally hangs it up in the very distant future, so for now, for later, for a long time, get used to John Wall because he is coming for all the accolades he thinks he deserves and my question is this: Who is going to stop him?