John Wall has decided to call it a career.
Over 15 years after he was selected with the first pick in the NBA Draft, Wall took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that he is retiring from the game of basketball. In his post, the five-time All-Star shared a video and wrote, "Retired but never done. Doing it the #WallWay."
Retired but never done. Doing it the #WallWay pic.twitter.com/s1pX9afHfL
— John Wall (@JohnWall) August 19, 2025
Wall took the basketball world by storm as one of the top recruits in the high school class of 2009. His high school highlights have amassed over 10 million YouTube views.
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He enrolled at Kentucky in 2009 and took college basketball by storm, winning SEC Player of the Year and earning consensus First Team All-American honors while the Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight with a 35-3 record.
Wall was a no-brainer No. 1 overall pick in 2010, and his NBA career included five All-Star selections, an All-NBA nod, and an All-Defensive Team selection. Here is more on Wall's career and the injuries that came during the peak of his powers.
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John Wall career timeline
2010-2020: Wizards
Washington selected Wall with the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, and he began his rise to stardom on Day 1.
As a rookie, Wall averaged 16.4. points, 4.6 rebounds, and 8.3 assists per game, and was Rookie of the Year runner-up. In his fourth season, Wall earned the first of five consecutive All-Star selections, an impressive peak of performance from 2013-18.
In that span, Wall averaged 19.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 9.9 assists per game, including the 2016-17 season in which he averaged 23.1 points and 10.7 assists, finishing seventh in MVP voting. During the playoffs, Wall led the Wizards within one win of the Eastern Conference Finals, including an epic game-winner in Game 6 of the second round.
One more look as John Wall calls his own number to force Game 7! #ThisIsWhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/MUmsa34DYv
— NBA (@NBA) May 13, 2017
That 2016-17 season would be Wall's final healthy campaign in the NBA.
2020-22: Rockets
After missing the second half of the 2017-18 season and the entirety of the 2019-20 season with injuries, Washington traded Wall and a first-round pick to Houston in exchange for Russell Westbrook.
Wall appeared in 40 games with the Rockets during the truncated 2020-21 season, averaging 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game. In 2021, he and the franchise reached a mutual decision for him to sit out of the 2021-22 season, ultimately reaching a buyout agreement in June 2022.
2022-23: Clippers
Wall signed a two-year contract with the Clippers in July 2022.
He appeared in 34 games (three starts) with the Clippers before being traded back to the Rockets in a three-team deal at the deadline. Wall was waived three days later and did not take the floor for a second stint with Houston.
Wall's last NBA appearance came on Jan. 13, 2023, when he finished with 16 points and seven assists in a loss to the Nuggets.
John Wall injury history
Injuries derailed Wall's career following his impressive 2016-17 campaign.
January 2018: Knee surgery
Wall underwent knee surgery in late January 2018, sidelining him for six to eight weeks.
He returned to action in late March and took the floor during the playoffs, posting averages of 26.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 11.5 assists in a six-game series loss to the Raptors.
December 2018: Heel injury
On Dec. 29, 2018, Wall was ruled out for the remainder of the 2017-18 season after undergoing surgery on his left heel.
That surgery resulted in complications, as he developed an infection in the incision from the surgery.
January 2019: Ruptured Achilles
While recovering from heel surgery and the subsequent infection, Wall slipped and fell in his home, rupturing his Achilles tendon. Wall underwent surgery to repair the injury and was ruled out for 12 months.
April 2021: Hamstring strain
Wall did not play at all during the 2019-20 season, and did not rejoin Washington at the NBA restart in Orlando. He found his rhythm after the trade to Houston but was limited to 40 games in the 2020-21 season after a Grade 2 hamstring strain ended his season early.
John Wall career stats
Wall appeared in 647 games (604 starts) over 11 seasons. He retires with averages of 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game.
| Season | Team | Games | PTS | REB | AST |
| 2010-11 | Wizards | 69 | 16.4 | 4.6 | 8.3 |
| 2011-12 | Wizards | 66 | 16.3 | 4.5 | 8.0 |
| 2012-13 | Wizards | 49 | 18.5 | 4.0 | 7.6 |
| 2013-14 | Wizards | 82 | 19.3 | 4.1 | 8.8 |
| 2014-15 | Wizards | 79 | 17.6 | 4.6 | 10.0 |
| 2015-16 | Wizards | 77 | 19.9 | 4.9 | 10.2 |
| 2016-17 | Wizards | 78 | 23.1 | 4.2 | 10.7 |
| 2017-18 | Wizards | 41 | 19.4 | 3.7 | 9.6 |
| 2018-19 | Wizards | 32 | 20.7 | 3.6 | 8.7 |
| 2019-20 | Wizards | Did Not Play | |||
| 2020-21 | Rockets | 40 | 20.6 | 3.2 | 6.9 |
| 2021-22 | Rockets | Did Not Play | |||
| 2022-23 | Clippers | 34 | 11.4 | 2.7 | 5.2 |
| Career | 647 | 18.7 | 4.2 | 8.9 |
John Wall career earnings
Wall earned over $286.8 million over 14 years, though he only took the floor in 11 of those seasons.
Here is a year-by-year breakdown. Salary figures are from Basketball-Reference.
| Season | Team | Age | Salary |
| 2010-11 | Wizards | 20 | $5,144,280 |
| 2011-12 | Wizards | 21 | $5,530,080 |
| 2012-13 | Wizards | 22 | $5,915,880 |
| 2013-14 | Wizards | 23 | $7,459,925 |
| 2014-15 | Wizards | 24 | $14,746,000 |
| 2015-16 | Wizards | 25 | $15,851,950 |
| 2016-17 | Wizards | 26 | $16,957,900 |
| 2017-18 | Wizards | 27 | $18,063,850 |
| 2018-19 | Wizards | 28 | $19,169,800 |
| 2019-20 | Wizards | 29 | $38,199,000 |
| 2020-21 | Rockets | 30 | $41,254,920 |
| 2021-22 | Rockets | 31 | $44,310,840 |
| 2022-23 | Rockets | 32 | $40,866,760 |
| Clippers | 32 | $6,479,000 | |
| 2023-24 | Clippers | 33 | $6,802,950 |
| Career | $286,753,135 |