Dear Summer: John Wall

How the Wiz kid spent his offseason.

With or without a lockout, it’s undeniable that the summer of 2011 featured plenty of incredible basketball moments. NBA players traveled the world, participated in streetball games and charity events, acted in movies and television shows, took up new hobbies and plenty more, all to enjoy themselves, promote their brands and take their minds off the messy labor negotiations that have clouded the League’s otherwise bright future. Our “Dear Summer” series will be providing video/photo galleries of all of your favorite players’ offseasons, allowing you the opportunity to check out (almost) everything they’ve been up to since the ’10-11 season ended, all in one place. Up next: Wizards’ guard John Wall, who has put together one of the summer’s most impressive highlight reels.

by Abe Schwadron / @abe_squad

When the NFL’s Detroit Lions took running back Jahvid Best a couple drafts ago, coach Jim Schwartz had this to say: “Some people watch adult videos on their computer. I go to YouTube and watch Jahvid Best highlight clips. That’s what gets me aroused.” Permit me to use that awkward analogy for a moment: if there were a statistic in the box score for “arousing” basketball plays, John Wall would have led the League—er, the world—in that category this summer.

The No. 25 player in the NBA has sought out every possible high-quality basketball game since season’s end and rolled up ready to play. His insane dunks, improved shooting and jaw-dropping speed have been on public display, and he’s enjoyed every  minute of it. The Wizards guard has a bright future, and if this summer’s any preview of what he’s got in store, Washingtonians and basketball fans from coast to coast will get a show when we finally have meaningful games. So take a minute to recall all that the kid’s done this summer, and if you see him on the street, don’t be alarmed to see him dribbling an invisible basketball.