Five-time All-Star and former top overall draft pick John Wall announced his retirement from the NBA on Tuesday.
Wall, who will turn 35 on September 6, last played in the league with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2022-23 season. Knee injuries have limited him to just 147 games since the start of the 2017-18 season.
“Every jersey I’ve worn meant more than wins and stats,” Wall said in a video posted on social media. “It represented something bigger.”
Wall began the first of his nine seasons with Washington after being selected by the Wizards with the top overall pick of the 2010 NBA draft out of Kentucky. He averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 573 career games (561 starts) with Washington.
“One of our franchise all-time greats. The definition of an era. A lasting legacy. A forever Wizard. Congratulations on your retirement,” the team wrote on social media.
Wall, who did not play in 2019-20, was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets on December 2, 2020, that saw Russell Westbrook sent to Washington. The Wizards sent Wall and a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft to the Rockets for Westbrook and a lottery-protected first-round pick in the same 2023 draft.
Wall played one season in Houston (2020-21), sat out the 2021-22 season with an injury and came back to compete in 34 games with the Clippers in 2022-23.
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