Is John Wall Ready To Take On Elite Status?

Intangibles

If a player wants to be great at the NBA-level, they cannot just rely on talent. There have to be some intangibles that set them apart from the competition.

LeBron James has an innate feel for basketball and pretty much shines in every aspect of the game. Among many other things, Michael Jordan had the ability to rise to the occasion in the biggest moments of his career. Magic Johnson had ultimate vision when it came to flashy passes and making the team around him better.

Though it is not on the level of a LeBron or Magic, Wall has the natural feel for the game and the vision to anticipate one of his teammates being open before they actually are. Visiting the fast break situations once again, Wall has the ball in his hands the vast majority of the time when the Wizards are in the open floor. The other four players have to stay alert at all times because before they know it, the ball can be flying towards their face after a no-look pass from Wall.

Here are just a few examples:

Every big man in the NBA would shine playing alongside Wall. Wall averaged 2.1 assists per game to Gortat and 1.3 to Nene. He always follows the old saying of “reward the big man” when they make the effort to get out in transition.

But it’s not only in transition that Wall is looking to get his big men involved. In the half court, there are plenty of opportunities where Wall penetrates and could easily draw a foul or score a layup, but instead makes the extra effort to make the opposing big man to commit so Gortat or Nene can have an easy deuce.

Here Wall penetrates and could easily take it for himself to try and score, but instead has it in his mind from the get-go that he will utilize Gortat once he makes the defender commit to helping:

Next: Conclusion