Wizards: Should You Be Worried About John Wall’s Wrist?

By Josh Wilson | Aug 3, 2015

May 15, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard John Wall (2) attempts a shot as Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (17) looks on during the second half in game six of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Wizards‘ last playoff series this past season was full of heart-wrenching losses. Not just losses of actual games, but losses of players at points, too. John Wall was the most notable, after he fractured a bone in his left wrist, and missed three games during their series against the Atlanta Hawks.

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He ended up playing later on in the series, but it was clear his wrist was not at 100 percent. Since we’re in the offseason now, it’s definitely something we want to know all about before we head into the regular season, and make sure it’s not an injury we should expect to happen again.

Recurring injuries are a tough part of any sport, but we have really seen it take a toll on some teams in the NBA. Derrick Rose had several years where he sat out due to his constant knee injuries, and that was a huge disappointment to the Chicago Bulls. We definitely don’t want to see this hand injury become similar to that with Wall and the Wizards, since Wall is clearly the best player on the team.

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Should you be worried about Wall’s hand? Wall and the Wizards are telling us no. Wall was in town to watch some of the Wizards’ Summer League games, and he told the Washington Post that his wrist (once fractured in five places) is “perfect.”

With other teams around the league seemingly not letting fans know when their franchise players are re-injured (cough, cough, Philadelphia 76ers), it’s tough to not be skeptical of the Wizards here, wondering if they are just saying he’s fine and hoping he is for the start of the season.

Wall was seen out at a restaurant with the Sixers’ Joel Embiid, where TMZ questioned Embiid about his foot. Wall was mature about the situation, trying to get Embiid to stay away from the media. On another note, I’m impressed with Wall’s ability to know when to speak to media and when not to.

From the looks of it, though, it appears they’re being honest, and truly believe he’s at full strength.

If it helps you feel any better about it, Wall also got a second opinion from Camron, the hip-hop artist.

"said da hand is almost 1OO% John Wall A photo posted by @mr_camron on Jul 20, 2015 at 11:37am PDT"

So, we think we can trust the Wizards, but I still have concerns about his wrist. As much as he could be full strength now, one little fall on that wrist next season will definitely make me hold my breath, hoping Wall gets up on his feet without any grimaces.

After all, the injury in the playoffs didn’t seem like that intense of a fall, yet it fractured his wrist in five places.

Since he didn’t need surgery, he thankfully had a short recovery time.

In today’s sporting world, injuries and safe play are becoming a more important topic every day. If John Wall even so much as bruises this hand, there is the possibility that he could be taken out, just to be safe with him.

In short, I don’t think the information we’ve gotten on Wall’s injury is skewed in anyway. I do, however, have a tough time thinking about Wall falling on that hand. I’m worried he could break it again if he isn’t careful, and have it be worse this time around, possibly requiring surgery.

This injury shouldn’t worry you right now, but it’s something to keep an eye on.

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