Tuesday, October 4th, 2011 at 2:18 pm  |  142 responses

Top 50: John Wall, no. 25

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

by Abe Schwadron / @abe_squad

Living life as a Washington basketball fan is generally a maddening experience, to put it lightly. More like, eternally frustrating, constantly infuriating or perpetually depressing.

Since swapping “Bullets” for “Wizards,” it’s been one bad move after another. An aging late-‘90s core gave way to the worst No. 1 pick in NBA history, then to history’s best player in his worst condition. And just when things were looking up, with an eccentric star and a stellar supporting cast making multiple Playoff appearances, the crap hit the fan. The star went from funny to foolish, his behavior becoming a league-wide joke and his game going by the wayside.

So us Wiz fans don’t get excited too often. We don’t let our guard down anymore. We refuse to open our hearts for just anyone. We’re the girl who can’t have a relationship without being cheated on, without falling in love only to find out he’s married. To multiple wives.

Enter Prince Charming.

The 2010 NBA Draft Lottery should have been boring. In the middle of a Playoff schedule, it should have been a footnote, and nothing more. No ping-pong balls could be more important than real live hoop. But to Wizards fans, it meant everything.

I would argue that following the ’09-10 season, no NBA team had a worse outlook. Six months after trading away the No. 5 pick in the Draft for a pair of veterans in Mike Miller and Randy Foye—hoping to add the final complimentary pieces to a conference contender—the team was in shambles.

Before season’s end, the Wiz traded away four-fifths of those mid-2000s Playoff teams in Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood. Gilbert Arenas’ monstrous, untradeable contract was still on the books, and without young talent to cultivate in a dead season, the likes of Earl Boykins, Alonzo Gee and Cartier Martin saw increased playing time to wrap up a 26-win season.

On top of that, odds were Washington would land a pick outside the top four in a Draft with only one real franchise player. All of which brought unusual significance to the ‘10 Lottery. I can remember sitting on the edge of my seat, face-in-hands (a body contortion we Wiz fans know well), whispering a silent plea to the basketball gods.

When the Wizards slipped into the top three, my insides tightened. “No way,” I thought, fumbling to reply to the flurry of texts pouring in from fellow DC fans.

Before I had time to think, Adam Silver’s beautiful, bald-headed dome pulled the Nets’ logo, then the Sixers’…

I’ve been to a series-clinching NBA Playoff game (May 6, ’05, Wizards over Bulls), rushed the court at my alma mater’s NCAA arena (January 16, ’10, Northwestern over No. 6 Purdue), coached a youth rec league team to a title (won’t bore you with the details). Not then, not ever, have I made the shrieking noise I made when the ping-pong balls went the way of the Wiz that night.

John Wall was going to be a Washington Wizard.

It was—literally—an answer to a fanbase’s prayers. The sure doom of the decade to come suddenly turned to legitimate promise of a real-live basketball team somewhere in the future. The long nightmare in the nation’s capital was over.

Am I overdoing it? Maybe. But ask any Wizards fan, that’s how it felt. That’s how it still feels.

Fast-forward a year later, and Wall’s doing the damn thing. He finished seventh in the NBA in assists per game (8.3), besting some of the best at his position. Considering the, well, “talent,” around him, that’s a staggering stat. Add 16.4 points, 4.6 boards and 1.8 steals a night, plus an uncanny ability to finish at the rim with either hand, with power or grace, all while battling a lingering foot injury, and there’s no doubt dude’s for real.

How many rooks are asked to learn on the fly while playing 38 minutes a game (11th in the L) surrounded by chaos in the form of raw young players and under-performing veterans?

The sky’s the limit for Wall. It’s not rocket science: the kid has incredible god-given talent and an equally intense will to win.

An All-Star bid and a bump in scoring in year two should be well within his reach, and don’t be surprised to see him take a run at the assist title, too. If he can sustain his improved jumper from summer runs, which looks more confident and more fluid, he’ll be a serious problem for opposing point guards on a nightly basis.

The fact that Wall, admittedly, has plenty left to learn about the game of basketball, is downright scary. Let this serve as your official heads up—when he gets his education up, look out below, because his assault on this list is far from over.

SLAMonline Top 50 Players 2011
Rank Player Team Position Pos. Rank
50 Luol Deng Bulls SF 8
49 Andrew Bogut Bucks C 7
48 Ray Allen Celtics SG 9
47 Marc Gasol Grizzlies C 6
46 David West Hornets PF 15
45 Kevin Martin Rockets SG 8
44 Andrew Bynum Lakers C 5
43 Brandon Jennings Bucks PG 11
42 Lamar Odom Lakers PF 14
41 Gerald Wallace Blazers SF 7
40 Brook Lopez Nets C 4
39 Joakim Noah Bulls C 3
38 Carlos Boozer Bulls PF 13
37 Kevin Garnett Celtics PF 12
36 Eric Gordon Clippers SG 7
35 Tony Parker Spurs PG 10
34 Andre Iguodala 76ers SG 6
33 Al Jefferson Jazz PF 11
32 Al Horford Hawks C 2
31 Stephen Curry Warriors PG 9
30 Tim Duncan Spurs PF 10
29 Josh Smith Hawks PF 9
28 Manu Ginobili Spurs SG 5
27 Tyreke Evans Kings PG 8
26 Rudy Gay Grizzlies SF 6
25 John Wall Wizards PG 7

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’11-12 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Maurice Bobb, Shannon Booher, David Cassilo, Bryan Crawford, Sandy Dover, Adam Figman, Jon Jaques, Eldon Khorshidi, Ryne Nelson, Doobie Okon, Ben Osborne, Quinn Peterson, Dave Schnur, Abe Schwadron, Dan Shapiro, Irv Soonachan, Todd Spehr, Tzvi Twersky, Yaron Weitzman, DeMarco Williams and Ben York.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.

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  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    In big highlight it was Lue. Next time define what you talking about. Kobe had plenty of games where he was guarding AI. Lue was on the Lakers for 3 years. Kobe in general guards AI when he plays against him. Fish had his moments also. So did Brian Shaw. Throughout a game you toss plenty of defenders at a guy who is as good as AI. Kobe is needed to much for his Offense to guard the opposing best wing player the entire game. I mean Kobe at 33 was guarding CP3 this last year (doing a terrible job, but what 33 year old 6’6″ wing wouldn’t struggle against a prime CP3)

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Lakeshow, come on now. Just because he attempted and failed to slowdown CP, we should give him props? It wouldn’t have matter whether it was a 26-yr old Kobe, no one expect for prime GP, is slowing down CP.
    Kobe used to be a great defender but even you have to admit that he’s been overrated defensively the past couple seasons. How and why he continues to be selected for the all-defensive team baffles me.

  • Gateway

    Wall’s rookie year was overrated. On the surface 16 and 8 look good, but on 41% shooting and 4 turnovers is pretty bad. I would say his rookie year was good but not historic. Looking at Rose he shot 48% from the field in his 1st year but that’s because his jumper was better than advertised, Wall was pretty much advertised as having a better jumper than Rose out of college but those predictions were incorrect and his jumper is still flawed.

  • http://Slamonline.coM nbk

    No one could stop Iverson, as the Lakers lost game 1 of the finals, so Phil decided to test out Lue’s quickness against him. It worked. The Lakers swept the next four games, and Lue’s benchwarmed skills were finally put on display, against a superstar in front of millions. His NBA career was saved, as Lue has since established himself as a trusty point guard.

  • http://Slamonline.coM nbk

    That was a quote from a Laker website. I can fond more if you want. Those finals are why Lue got a contract with Atlanta instead of somewhere in europe. Bryant was a very good defender but he has never locked up an opposing go-to player in a playoff series, like James has, atleast twice. Bryant is the better all time player but defensively idk, James seems more effective and versatile.

  • davidR

    damn, i thought SLAM would put wall ahead of monta (and i’m a gstate fan). i think monta is gonna blow this season especially with mark jackson as coach, but i’ll be very very surprised if he cracks the top 20.
    i’ll also await the firestorm of comments about how overrated he is

  • http://Slamonline.coM nbk

    Kobe Bryant’s regular season defensive exploits are the most overrated collection of fact and fiction ever. He is still winning defensive awards, and hasnt been even asked to be an elite defender since 08.

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    What did I say Taylor? Did I say he did well against CP3? No I didn’t. I was pointing out that Kobe guarded CP3, over Fisher, Artest, Barnes, Blake. CP3 is goin to make anyone look foolish including Bron. I think LBJ on D-Rose was kinda like Artest on Durant. It was more of a “Got ya!” D-Rose will probably destroy Bron even this next year. D-Rose was unprepared for Bron. Sure as f*ck Bron ain’t guarding AI for extended mins. Tossing a quick young player out there for defense is a common Playoff move nbk. It made sense. Kobe in guarded AI in general though. Who did Bron lock up beside Rose?

  • http://slamonline.com LakeShow

    Yeah I agree that Kobe has about 5 more Defensive 1st team selection than he deserves I don’t know why they keep voting him in on that lol. But allot of guys get those 1st, 2nd, 3rd team awards even though they don’t really deserve them. TA wasn’t even 1st team right? That’s some Bullllsh*t

  • http://Slamonline.coM nbk

    Paul Pierce. – no TA didnt get first team. Grant Hill didnt get any recognition and I really thought second team was the worst he should’ve done, he was spectacular, and idk if Jrue Holliday did either.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Paul Pierce (’10/’11 playoffs), Deng (’11 playoffs- didn’t lock him down but Deng struggled mightily) and JJ (’09 playoffs).

  • http://Slamonline.coM nbk

    Kobe was not a defensive option in that series against Iverson btw. It was Shaw-Fisher-Lue. Kobe was havin to deal with Aaron McKie on the other end. That guy was one hell of a one on one defender. But Kobe played his ass off in those finals and was a great help defender. imo that was his greatest defensive strength anyways, he took advantage of his uber knowledge too go with his athletic ability to affect the game as a help defender even as a guard in the half court. Not many guys have ever had that kind of impact as a guard.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    couple things… kobe is vastly overrated as a defender. Lebron at this point can literally make people non-factors in games… all the examples of kobe guarding people you used… he played DECENT defense on them, but he didn’t take them out of the game… lebron can do that and then drop 30 on you. Paul pierce, luol deng, Joe Johnson, andre iguodola, and derrick rose are proof of this. plus lebron can front positions 1-4 and some 5′s… kobe could never do that.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    a couple of things about reek vs john wall rookie year btw… when reke was grabbing 20-5-5 he WAS the king’s offense… esp. with kevin martin gone. however john wall wasn’t necessarily the wizards ENTIRE offense his rookie year. they had several capable scores albeit underachieving, crazy ones. If john wall had been the entire offense for the wizards he might have been able to put up similar or better #’s

  • http://www.kb24.com The Seed

    What is America coming too, is this based off him playing in exhibtion games this summer, because he is not top 25 talent. I take alot of players over him. He is vastly overrated and Brandon Jennings is better than him. BOOK IT!!

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Looks like Seed is sniffing markers again.

  • DukeFromDeep

    I swear I love these forums…I laugh my ass off at the regulars here having a go. By the way Wall is better than Reke/Rose if you give him another year or two.

  • Galagu

    I like Wall and he has all-star written all over…only concern with both reke and wall is i don’t know if they are winners…ya they score ya they draw crowds with the way play and fill up a stat sheet. But again if they aren’t winning or at least getting closer to a playoff spot after the fresh to league buzz wears off then they won’t be as appealing and probably won’t be on a list like this again. In college they had similar careers where their team (what was it memphis for reke and kentucky for wall) were good but again they didn’t win as much as i think they could have. Given they haven’t been in the league for a considerable amount of time, I just don’t know if as good as Wall and Reke are if they will get W’s the way Rose racks them up. Either way Wall and Reke will continue to get ridiculous stats but on what kind of team.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    I got to be in the effing twilight zone dude, somebody tell me when wall got so good,dudes can say reke and curry are no where near his level. yall watching too many of those exhibition games with no defense being played. lebron and kobe defense are overrated, they aint no pippen but kobe was better. shutting down pierce really? how old is pierce, i can recall when pierce was in his prime just two or three years ago giving lebron forty in the playoffs, but now lebron is a shut-down defender? no, his team is a great defensive team, in the playoffs they played some of the best defense as a units that I ever seen, they were fast and quick to help or recover.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    Ric, reke is near wall’s level… but i wouldn’t say curry is anywhere near wall, athletically, in terms of passing, or rebounding. curry’s a better shooter though. and personally i don’t think tyreke is anywhere near as good a passer as wall is, or anywhere near as athletic. he’s just a tall lead/point guard who’s good at slashing…. What are you smoking? we’ve all ALWAYS been this high on wall….

    and yeah pierce and lebron did at one point (08) hang 40+ on each other’s heads but lebron has grown by leaps and bounds as an individual defender in recent years… he completely took paul pierce out of his game on 2 different teams. so no it’s not just that he plays on good defensive teams. lebron >kobe as a defender

  • http://Slamonline.com Caboose

    Ok, let’s get some things straight.
    1. Wall will have a much better next season than Curry and Reke.
    2. Reke’s rook stats are inflated but still impressive.
    3. I think Wall’s rookie year is the best given his assist total.
    4. Kobe was an elite defender. Elite.
    5. Kobe is not a great defender now but he is not Kevin Martin.
    6. LeBron is a better help defender than 1 on 1.
    7. LeBron is still a very good 1 on 1 defender.
    8. The Seed and ctkennedy are out of their minds.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    ^^ COSIGN… all of that.

  • bigMvp

    Wall will have a better season than Curry and Tyreke next year which is why he is placed higher than them on this list there is not much to argue here and agree with @Caboose

  • AirForceONE

    Can people please stop bringing up Stephen Curry. The kid can shoot, but that’s about it. He is not on the same level as John Wall or Tyreke Evans. As for John Wall, I watched him play this summer at the Indy (Knox) Pro Am. He scored 41 points, dished out 11 assists, and grabbed 10 rebounds. I was impressed with his play to say the least.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    ^ dude shut the hell up, kyle lowry drop 48 at one of those games, nick young drop 60 and john lucas drop 50, who cares! they dont play any defense.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    Yes….Brandon “37% career shooting percentage” Jennings is better than John Wall. Way to add to your lack of cedibility Seed…

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    Oh yeah, cosign Caboose

  • marc

    Brandon Jennings is one of my favorite players but hes not better then Wall. And i don’t know why people keep saying all Steph Curry can do is shoot. He clearly has knowledge of the game. Alot of players and coaches talk about his basketball IQ. He can obviously handle the ball. He makes smart plays. Just because he doesn’t dunk on everyone doesn’t mean all he can do is shoot. He is going to be a top 10 pg in years to come. Maybe top 5. And why are people bringin him up. This is a john wall article

  • marc

    This might sound stupid to some people but if you replace John Wall with Rondo do you get the same results? I think John Wall and Rondo are basically the same players just that rondo has better talent around him.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    Um…wall has potential to be a prolific scorer…like 20+ ppg…Rondo has never averaged more than 14 ppg. Conversely, Rondo is on a whole different level than Wall defensively. As distributors Rondo is better now, but Wall could easlit be as good.

  • toinefan88

    He looked really strong in that last video of the all-star game. Looks like he’s put on a little muscle. He’s gonna be a problem the coming years.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Wayno

    easlit = easily

  • the truth

    coming from a UK homer and a huge j dub fan…this isn’t right. Potential to be the best point guard in the league, but right now, nope, not top 25

  • ctkennedy

    Question to ALL THE JOHN WALL lovers where do u think he rank RIGHT now as a FRANCHISE player against the other 29n the league …Every team got SOMEBODY they quote on quote builtin around (1-30)

  • dc sham

    I saw every game that Wall and Rose played against each other and Rose is probably the only PG that Wall looked physically intimidated by. Wall has the tools to challenge Rose, Cp3 and Deron for the #1 spot but what takes those three guys to the next level are their mastery of pace in the halfcourt game. You cant defend any of those three with a pg because they will kill them with their skill set. look at the playoffs this year when the Lakers had to put Kobe on CP3, and Indy put Paul George on Rose, with Miami following the same gameplan in the fourth with Lebron. A Franchise player shows the ability to at times single handedly get their teams victories throughout an 82 game season and Playoffs. Kobe, Lebron, Wade, Cp3, Howard, Dirk, Durant and Rose all embody what a Franchise player is

  • http://www.slamonline.com Slick Ric

    ^ well spoken

  • http://slamonline.com Chester

    are you kidding me? way to many john wall fanboys on this page this is ridiculous

  • Irfan

    Wall 10 spots ahead of Parker? Come on SLAM. Wall is barely top 50 at the moment don’t be ridiculous.
    No Scola on the list, Deng very low, Parker too low, Bogut & Marc Gasol too low… isn’t there a HUGE American bias here?
    That’s really a bad ranking now.

  • Bullet

    Someone asked a very interesting question. Where does John Wall stack up against the other “franchise players” in this league? Is John Wall already in the top tier, is he capable of rising to the elite level of Kobe, LBJ, Durant, or DRose? As a long-suffering Washington Bullets/Wizards fan I can say with 100% biased predjudice that the great Wall of Chinatown is indeed a franchise player. However, I reason such not because of stats and averages and wins and losses but instead based on the role and responsibility that being a franchise player demands. When Wall was selected it brought relief to a city of fans that were stressed and depressed from the embarassing and immature antics of Agent Zero. Now as the new face of the franchise, John Wall has restored optimism, enthusiasm, and excitement in Wizards fans about their team because he is a legitimate franchise player. Wall has the game, he has youth, and he has the demeanor that owners, general managers, and coaches look for when they are seeking a player to build their team around.

  • Justin G

    So Wall will be better than the MVP in 2 years…Hmm well the MVP will start for team USA next year,will lead his team to a top 3 record overall in the NBA ,and will play deep in the Playoffs,Bulls vs Wizards who wins those games ?…And he will only be 23 where the freak does somebody see J-Wall passing up the MVP at what Time ??? Ok in two years when the MVP is 25 at his max prime thats when you see J-Wall passing up Derrick? Really…Really!!!Derrick won two state titles,took his college team to a national chip,#1pick,playoffs rookie year ,playoffs second year,best record #1 seed and won the MVP,…Ok now John Wall,highschool don’t know wut he did but he lost 2 somebody,college lost to West Virgina ,who the F did they have on the squad ???..#1 pick,team had a horrible record…I love J-Walls game but 4 you clowns to compare him to the MVP need 2 stop…the NBA is about Winning!!! Compare winnin with those two… #Winning

  • Jer Dawg

    He’s nice player. Definitely would pay to watch him play. His style is very appealing to the masses. But he’s still a few years away. He gets numbers just blazing past everyone for layups and assists. Very transitional player. Gets plenty of steals with his speed. If it weren’t for his tendinitis throughout the season I think he would’ve been ranked higher. Aside from that caveat, he still is improving and will be watching him hopefully develop into a elite guard that challenges Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook. Guards with size and speed at that position.

  • brad

    in 3 years, ROSE, WALL, PAUL, RUSSEL. to say that stephen “female defense” curry is better than John Wall is a retarded statement. Im sure Jerry West would give up Monte and Curry for Wall. Curry can shoot but the rest of his game isnt half as good as Wall’s

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