Wizards guard John Wall is a five-time All-Star, averaging 20.7 points and 8.7 assists throughout his career. Yet, it’s his contract that is perhaps the most heavily scrutinized deal in the league.
In 2017, Wall made the All-NBA third team for the first career All-NBA honor. That made him eligible for the supermax, and he promptly signed a four-year, $171 million contract extension set to start this season. The following season, Wall failed to make the All-NBA team, and followed it up with a disastrous 2018-19 season. Wall was hampered by a heel injury before an infection and ruptured Achilles sidelined him for the rest of the season.
Wall will likely miss all of next season, and with his supermax extension set to kick in, many around the league have labeled it as one of the worst deals in the league.
“The only thing I questioned was ‘the worst contract in NBA history,’” Wall told NBC Sports Washington. “That was my lowest point because I was like do I really deserve this money? Did I really earn it? I looked back at all the years and all the things I’ve been through and said yes, I did deserve this, I did earn this. It was never given to me.”
In the 2016-2017 season, Wall averaged 23.1 points, 10.7 assists and two steals per game on 45% shooting from the field – all career highs. The Wizards earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and decided to use the brand new supermax rule to reward Wall and secure him long-term. As he gets ready to reap the rewards from the deal, however, the Wizards are nowhere near contending and appear to be waiting on damaged goods.
Wall, 28, is set to earn $38.2 million this season while he rehabs. By the time he gets back on the court in a real game, he will have likely gone 18 months on the sideline. On the court, Wall heavily relies on his speed and agility when he’s at his best, but he’ll be a 30-year-old guard coming off major leg injuries by the time he is back. Wall had already regressed before the injury, and most around the league believe he will even further due to his injuries.
Wall has heard all of the criticism. He plans to answer it all on the court.
“To say I have the worst contract in NBA history, that’s all I needed,” Wall said. “The ones that doubted me on the highest level I don’t speak to because I know my game will do the talking when I get back to playing.”
