After four straight seasons of playing 77 or more games, Wall's luck took a bit of a turn during the 2017-18 campaign, as the 27-year-old point guard missed 41 contests with a recurring knee injury. He had a cleanup procedure performed at the end of January and was given a 6-to-8-week timetable for his return, which ultimately allowed him to rejoin the team for a playoff run. Wall made it back for the final six games of the regular season, but the Wizards weren't able to make much noise once the postseason began, as they were bounced by the Raptors in the first round. It was yet another early exit for Washington, and a disappointing season for Fantasy owners that selected Wall in the top of drafts. Over his abbreviated schedule, Wall finished with averages of 19.4 points, 9.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks across 34.4 minutes, all of which (except blocks) were down from his previous season averages. However, the injuries certainly played a factor there and the five-time NBA All-Star should be a prime bounce-back candidate heading into the upcoming campaign. Wall is already back to full strength and the Wizards return nearly the entire roster from a season ago, so there shouldn't be any drastic threats to Wall's usage offensively. Fellow backcourt star Bradley Beal did earn his first All-Star bid himself, and for the second straight season averaged over 22.0 points per game, but again, the two have proven they can play alongside each other without sacrificing a ton of value. Wall's a career 78.6 percent free-throw shooter and has knocked down only 32.7 percent of his deep balls since joining the NBA, so there are certainly a few categories where he's not perfect. That said, his scoring numbers are almost always there and Wall seems likely to jump back up into double-digit assist averages, giving him plenty of potential to be selected in the top-15 of drafts once again.
Wall is coming off his fourth straight All-Star campaign. He raised his points (23.1), assists (10.7), steals (2.0) and field-goal percentage (45.1) from the previous season. He also made an All-NBA team for the first time. Unsurprisingly, the Wizards rewarded Wall during the offseason with a massive four-year, $170 million max extension. The 27-year-old is without a doubt entering his prime and should be poised for another impressive campaign, as the Wizards roster has changed very little from the previous season, notably retaining their starting five. In addition to being a reliable player in year-long formats, Wall is a prime option to use in DFS, as he has huge big-game upside. Of note, he dropped 52 points (18-31 FG, 5-8 3Pt 11-14 FT), eight assists, four rebounds and three steals on Dec. 6 against the Magic. He also racked up 12 games with 30-plus points, eight games with 15-plus assists and 27 games with three-plus steals. Wall rarely gets hurt either, as he’s played at least 77 games each of the past three seasons. The seventh-year man is virtually a guarantee to always play big minutes as well, as he’s averaged 36.1 minutes per game on his career. Possibly the only two knocks on Wall’s game are that he’s been a subpar three-point (32.9 percent) and free-throw (79.3 percent) shooter over the past three campaigns. His 4.1 turnovers per game aren’t pretty either, but the 10-plus assists per game make up for it. Overall, Wall has potential to be a top-5 Fantasy player and certainly warrants a selection in the top-10 in seemingly every Fantasy format.
While the Wizards backslid last season and missed the playoffs, little of the blame can be placed on Wall, who made his third straight All-Star team on the strength of a banner season. The point guard showed noticeable growth in a number of areas in 2015-16, averaging career highs in points (19.9 per game), assists (10.2, good for third in the NBA), rebounds (4.9), steals (1.9) and three-pointers (1.4). The healthy assist and rebound totals night in and night out allowed Wall to finish near the top of the league in double-doubles with 49 and triple-doubles with four. His achievements are all the more impressive when considering he played nearly the entire season while battling an assortment of injuries, including soreness in both knees that would ultimately sideline him for the Wizards’ final five games, when the team was effectively eliminated from postseason contention. Wall would require offseason surgery on the knees in what amounted to cleanup procedures, and there’s now optimism that he might able to take his game to greater heights during the upcoming season now that he seemingly won’t have to play through pain. While questions remain about whether Wall can coexist with oft-injured backcourt mate Bradley Beal, the Wizards’ decision to extend Beal to a max contract this offseason indicates the organization is banking on the duo enhancing their on-court chemistry and leading the team back to the playoffs. It’s fair to expect that Wall will be able to do just that, given the dramatic improvement he’s already shown throughout his career, particularly with his three-point shot. At 26 years old, Wall is right in the middle of the prime of his career and should remain an elite fantasy option at the point guard spot for at least a couple more years.
After a few uneven seasons after being selected as the first pick in the 2010 draft, Wall has established himself as one of the best point guards in the NBA. The 6-4 guard was named to the All-Star Team for the second straight season and was second in the league in assists at 10.0 per game (just 0.2 behind Chris Paul) in 2014-15. He played 36 minutes in 79 games and made a career-high 45 percent of his field goals. Wall's scoring fell a bit from his 2013-14 campaign to 17.6 points, and his 79 percent from the line was his worst conversion rate since his rookie season. Wall added 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks. Some of his scoring went to other Wizards, but he also did not shoot three-pointers quite as well as he did in the season prior. The former Kentucky Wildcat hit 30 percent of his three-pointers for 0.8 per game. Wall's speed, particularly on the fast break, is what sets him apart from almost every other guard in the league. His shooting is on the rise over his career and he might be unguardable if he can develop a reliable three-point shot.
Heading into his fifth NBA season, John Wall is looking to make the step from very good to elite. He averaged 19.3 points, 8.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks over 36 minutes last season, playing in each of the Wizards' 82 games. While he set or matched personal bests in terms of points, assists, and steals, the most encouraging aspect of Wall's 2013-14 campaign was the development of a three-point shot. After making just 15-of-97 three-point attempts over the previous two seasons, Wall attempted 308 treys in 2013-14, making 35 percent of his shots. He also made his first appearances in both the All-Star Game and playoffs, though his first postseason showing left something to be desired. Still only 24 years old, and with excellent size and athleticism, Wall has all the pieces in place to take another step in terms of shooting efficiency and assists. The Wizards addressed their previously poor frontcourt depth in the offseason, and shooting guard Bradley Beal continues to develop as a potential star. While the solid supporting cast means Wall probably won't make a big jump in terms of shot attempts, he could improve his efficiency from last season, when he made 43 percent of his field-goal attempts. While his shooting has been the subject of much criticism, Wall has never had any trouble at the line, where he's a career 79-percent shooter, and coming off an 81-percent season.
Tendinitis sidelined Wall for the first 33 games of the 2012-13 campaign. But once he returned to the lineup, he flashed the form that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft, finishing the season with a career-high scoring average (18.5 ppg), 7.6 assists per game, 4.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and a shooting percentage of 44 from the field. But the Wizards are hoping for continued improvement – and they're investing $80 million in that potential over five years. He has plenty of room to grow. For starters, he has no outside shot at all – he shot 27 percent from three-point range in 2012-13, and that was actually an improvement from his now-legendary 07 percent in 2011-12. (In fairness, the sample sizes both years were very small – he had 15 makes from long range in those two seasons combined.) He's also a major defensive liability. But he's still just 24 years old, years away from his prime. His continued development, along with the improving overall talent level of Washington's roster, could make this Wall's breakout campaign.
John Wall averaged about 16 points, eight assists and four rebounds in an impressive rookie campaign. In his second year, he averaged about 16 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Consistency is nice, I guess, but when you're the first overall pick in the draft, "improvement" is the expectation. The only real change in Wall's game from in his sophomore season was his near-total abandonment of the three-point shot. He converted just three of his 42 attempts last season. Wall's awful three-point shooting isn't a major concern yet. Plenty of guards have either developed that shot at the pro level--Jason Kidd, for example--or adjusted their games to make their outside shooting less of a liability--Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker, to name two. If Wall is going to become the point guard many thought he'd be coming out of Kentucky, he's going to have to figure out what to do when defenses drop back and dare him to shoot from the outside. We’re optimistic that having more veterans on the team this season, and the absence of headaches like JaVale McGee, Nick Young, and Andray Blatche, will help Wall take the next step in his development.
Remember when adjusting to the pro game was really difficult for point guards? John Wall was the latest to make it look easy, with stellar rookie averages of 16.4 points, 8.3 assists, 4.6 boards and 1.8 steals. If not for Blake Griffin’s injury-delayed NBA debut, Wall almost certainly would have run away with top rookie honors. Room for improvement? Plenty – don’t forget, he played most of last season with lingering foot and knee injuries that limited him to 69 games. But Wall also has some pretty significant holes in his game. Like many rookie point guards, Wall can be turnover-prone; he coughed the ball up 3.8 times per game last season and 4.8 times per 48 minutes of play. He also has no outside shot to speak of; he shot under 30 percent from three as a rookie and made just 34 shots from beyond the arc. That’s not a new problem – he shot .325 from the shorter college three-point line in his only season at Kentucky. It will be interesting to see if teams start using the same sort of sagging “dare you to shoot” defenses on Wall that they’ve tried on Rajon Rondo.
In years gone by, point guard was the toughest position to master at the NBA level. But rules changes that limit contact on the perimeter and a focus on faster-paced offenses have allowed guards like Derrick Rose, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans to take over at the NBA level without missing a beat, and Wall seems to be a lock to follow suit. A tremendous athlete with good size (6-4, 195) for the position, he has a feel for the game that's truly remarkable for a player his age; at Kentucky, he showed an excellent knack for deferring to teammates when he could but stepping up and taking the big shot when needed. He averaged 23.5 points and 7.8 assists in four Vegas Summer League games, but also notched 5.3 turnovers per game, so bear that in mind if your league counts TOs.
