Washington Wizards: It’s Time To Accept John Wall As An Elite Point Guard

The Washington Wizards are thriving and John Wall is playing at an elite level. When will he finally get the recognition he deserves as a legitimate star?

John Wall was a household name as a college freshman and the No. 1 overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft. Seven years later, however, Wall has become one of the most criminally underrated players in the Association.

If previous seasons weren’t enough to validate Wall’s rise to star status, then his play in 2016-17 should firmly solidify his place as one of the league’s elite point guards.

Wall doesn’t have—nor has he ever had—the luxury of playing with an all-time scorer or a dynamic playmaker who can take the pressure off of him offensively. He’s never had the benefit of playing for a team with tremendous depth and balance.

Due to Bradley Beal’s checkered injury history, Wall has been placed on an island and thrust into the role of the creator without the patience or understanding that most in his position have been granted.

As he works his way through the second half of his seventh NBA season, Wall has effectively overcome the odds. There’s still work to be done before he can find himself in conversations with the all-time greats, but Wall is well on his way to doing so.

At the very least, it’s time we as an NBA community recognize Wall as the star that he is.

Wall is currently averaging 22.9 points, 10.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and 1.0 3-point field goals made in 36.3 minutes per game. He’s doing so on a slash line of .463/.313/.816.

Many point to Wall’s high turnover count, but he’s creating 24.3 points via assists per game—the second-best mark in the NBA behind just James Harden.

Wall has scored 1,031 points, created 1,067 points via assists, and committed 190 turnovers. That gives him a point-to-turnover ratio of 11.04.

That’s a better rate than Harden—one turnover per 9.50 points created—Russell Westbrook—9.71—and LeBron James—10.95.

Wall plays a similar role to Harden, James, and Westbrook as the ball-dominant creator of virtually everything his team does. What one would be quick to argue, however, is that the Wizards aren’t winning games like Harden’s Rockets, James’ Cavaliers, or Westbrook’s Thunder.

Or are they?

Since Dec. 1, Wall and the Wizards are 21-9 in 30 games played. During that same stretch, Harden’s Rockets are 24-9, James’ Cavaliers are 19-11, and Westbrook’s Thunder are 16-12.

Since Jan. 1, the Wizards are 11-4—the best mark in the NBA behind just the Golden State Warriors, which have four All-Stars to Washington’s one: Wall.

Clearly, the MVP award is a season-long award and not one that values a sample size of 15 or 30 games. Many started hot and have since come back down to earth, however, while Wall has maintained an elite level of play.

For those who have been monitoring Wall’s career, that’s nothing new.

Since the 1989-90 season, Wall is tied for the third-most seasons with averages of at least 17.0 points and 10.0 assists per game. The only players ahead of him are future Hall of Famer Chris Paul and two-time All-NBA Second Team honoree Deron Williams.

Wall’s tied for third with five-time All-NBA honoree Kevin Johnson.

Wall will need to finish the 2016-17 with said averages for that statistic to come into effect, but it’s already a sign of how consistent his production has been. He’s a reliable source of borderline elite production as a scorer and consistently puts up superstar numbers as a facilitator.

Wall has also won two postseason series and, in many eyes, was an injury away from defeating the 60-win Atlanta Hawks in the playoffs in 2015.

In 2014, Wall scored a game-high 24 points to close out the Chicago Bulls in a grueling postseason series. In 2015, he averaged 17.3 points and 12.5 assists in a 4-0 sweep of the 49-win Toronto Raptors, and tallied 18 points and 13 assists in Game 1 against the Hawks.

For a 26-year-old who’s just now entering the prime of his career, Wall has already achieved a great deal of success as an individual player and a leader..

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John Wall may not be getting the national exposure that his superstar peers receive, but he’s becoming an elite player and a viable MVP candidate.