Opinion: John Wall is not a Hall of Famer

John Wall (Joe Glorioso, Wikimedia Commons/All-Pro Reels)

According to Rogers Sportsnet on Tuesday, National Basketball Association point guard John Wall of Raleigh, North Carolina retired at the age of 34. Wall had only played 74 games in the NBA since the 2019-20 season, and experienced his fair share of injuries in a four year time period from 2018 to 2021.

Wall played 11 NBA seasons from 2010 to 2023. He played nine seasons with the Washington Wizards from 2010 to 2019, and one season each with the Houston Rockets (2020-2021), and  the Los Angeles Clippers (2022-23).

In 647 games, Wall averaged 18.7 points per game, 8.9 assists per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 1.6 steals per game. He had a field goal percentage of .430, three point percentage of .322 and a free throw percentage of .776.

For five consecutive seasons from 2014 to 2018 with the Wizards, Wall was a NBA All-Star. He also led the NBA with 11.9 assists per game in the 2015 NBA postseason.

Wall also had a significant beginning to his basketball career. He won the Adolph Rupp Trophy in 2009-10 while with the University of Kentucky Wildcats. The award was presented annually until the 2015 NBA season to the top player in NCAA Division I Basketball. In 2010, Wall was the first overall pick by the Wizards in the NBA Draft. Then in his rookie season, Wall averaged 16.4 points per game, and was the finalist for the NBA rookie of the year. Wall lost out to Blake Griffin of the Clippers.

While with the Wizards, Wall is the all-time leader in two major categories. They are assists (5282), and steals (976).

Now, with the retirement of Wall, one will need to ask if he was good enough to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame. My initial feeling is no. The reasons are a) he only played 647 games, b) he only played 37 postseason games, and c) he never won a major individual award.