John Wall has had a rough go of things over the last few seasons. Injuries limited him to 41 games during the 2017-18 campaign and 32 games the following year. This season, Wall has not played at all, opting to get his body right with the hopes that he can regain the form that made him one of the most exciting players in the NBA.
Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said last summer that Wall would likely miss the entirety of the 2019-20 campaign, as Wall is trying to work his way back from a ruptured achilles. Wall spoke to the media on Tuesday, and while he mentioned that his rehab has gotten his body to a point where he feels like he’s at “110 percent,” he does not plan on taking the floor whenever the NBA decides to restart its season.
John Wall: “I’m 110 percent. I’m healthy.”
I will answer the follow-up, since he and the organization have said it 392 times: No, he does not plan on playing this season, even if there are more Wizards regular-season games to be played.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 26, 2020
Washington would need a miracle to make the postseason — the team sits 5.5 games behind the 8-seed and have played 64 games on the year, so if the NBA decides to go with the top-8 squads in both conferences, they would find themselves on the outside looking in. But even with a more expanded playoff format, the Wizards are not winning a championship with a rusty Wall on the floor.
Whenever he’s able to play, it’ll be great to see Wall back out there, especially if he really is healthy and able to get back to being an All-Star point guard. For now, continuing to take things slow and not rushing back to play is almost certainly the sensible decision.