John Wall has experienced great highs and terrible lows during his basketball career, going from being a superstar guard to someone who now isn't getting opportunities in the NBA. Wall continues to work his socks off regardless and at Rico Hines' latest basketball runs, told young hoopers to always work hard and never take anything for granted.
“I've been at the top before," Wall said."I was (a) franchise player, 5x All-Star... Work hard, bro. Y'all be chillin, cruising. It's hard to be here. It's easy to get drafted. You got guys that went lottery, they out the league after 4 years.
"Continue to work," Wall stated. "I'm here, Reggie (Jackson) here, (Kevon) Looney here, all the older guys, ask us for advice, man, but work hard. They giving out money now. We was getting 5-year, $80 million, that was the max. They get 290 now.
"Enjoy this, but really put the work in," Wall continued. "I've been at the top, I'm at the bottom now. But, I'm always gonna work hard. I'm never gonna stop working hard trying to get back to where I think I belong… Take this s*** serious, man. It can be here today and it can be gone tomorrow... Never take it for granted."
That was great advice from Wall. If you want to reach the top, you can't take your foot off the gas and try to cruise. As a basketball player, you can also lose everything in an instant, so you mustn't take things for granted and instead maximize your opportunities while you still have them.
Wall is an unfortunate example of someone who has seen it all go away. The 2016-17 season was the best of his NBA career, as he averaged 23.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 2.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game for the Washington Wizards .
Wall finished seventh in MVP voting in 2017 and it looked like he was going to be one of the more dominant guards in the league for the foreseeable future. The injury bug then struck, though, and he has never quite been the same after that. It's now been over a year since Wall played an NBA game and it doesn't look like he'll be getting another opportunity.
Related: Rookie John Wall Went To Sam Cassell In Tears Over Wizards' Constant Losses
John Wall Is Ready To Accept Any Role To Be Back In The NBA
While Wall continues to generate little to no interest from NBA teams, he is still holding out hope. The five-time All-Star has made it clear he is willing to take on a non-playing role too, as Wall stated he would accept the "Udonis Haslem" role to be back in the NBA.
"I know a lot of these teams have a lot of young guys on the team. They don't have a lot of vets," Wall said. "And I think you need those vets in the locker room. That's what teams are missing. I'm willing to accept any role it is to be on a team. If it's playing, not playing, being in the Udonis Halsem role. Anything like that.
"I just wanna be in an NBA jersey again because I know how much the game means to me, how much I still have left," Wall continued. "If it's helping the team playing, if it's helping the team trying to be a coach or be a mentor, I'm willing to accept that."
Wall last played in the NBA for the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2022-23 campaign and averaged 11.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. His remaining unsigned for the whole of last season was a clear indicator that teams didn't believe he could still have a positive impact on the court. I am not too certain any of them would sign the 34-year-old for a leadership role either, but time will tell.
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