Former Wizards star John Wall retires after 11 seasons

Former Washington Wizards guard John Wall has announced his retirement.

In a video posted on social media, Wall said it was time to move on to the next chapter of his life after an 11-year career. The former point guard told The Washington Post that he will join Amazon Prime Video for its NBA studio show for its inaugural season broadcasting the league.

“I gave this game everything I had,” Wall said in a video posted on social media.

Wall, 34, played most of his career with the Wizards after they made him the first overall pick in the 2010 draft out of Kentucky. He became a fan favorite in D.C., becoming a five-time All-Star and leading the Wizards to four playoff berths from 2014-18.

Wall was one of the fastest, most athletic point guards during his prime — he was the 2014 Slam Dunk champion. He was an elite defender, making the All-Defensive second team in 2015.

In his best season in Washington, he averaged 23.1 points and 10.7 assists for the Wizards in 2016-17 and was named All-NBA third team.

Wall played nine seasons in D.C., averaging 19 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He holds franchise records in assists (5,282) and steals (976) and is fourth in points scored (10,879).

Washington traded Wall to Houston for Russell Westbrook in a blockbuster deal in 2020. He also played for the Los Angeles Clippers before his retirement.

Injuries plagued the second half of his career. He never played more than half the games in any of the past six seasons and he didn’t play the last two years.

WTOP’s José Umaña and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Dave Preston

Dave has been in the D.C. area for 10 years and in addition to working at WTOP since 2002 has also been on the air at Westwood One/CBS Radio as well as Red Zebra Broadcasting (Redskins Network).

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