John Wall is happy to be back in D.C. He just didn’t see it coming as part of a blossoming media career.
A studio analyst for Washington Wizards games on Monumental Sports Network, Wall said it’s brought him joy to be back in the place he spent the first 10 years of his NBA career. “The fans missed me. I missed them,” Wall told FTW, though a growing media portfolio will keep him on the road plenty. Just last week, he made his NBA on Prime Video debut, even breaking out the same signature dance from his Wizards home debut 15 years ago.
In this next chapter of Wall’s life, don’t be surprised if it’s the last time you see him hit the Dougie. “I really want to retire it,” Wall said in this interview about his media career and the NBA today, including the Thunder’s historic season, Chris Paul’s exit from the Clippers and Wall’s relationship with the Wizards.
This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
FTW: Did you always know you would go into media when you were done playing?
John Wall: “It’s funny you say that because it was never part of my plan. Like I was still trying to figure out what was the next chapter, what I want to do next with my career. And I got an opportunity to do broadcasting for the G League Showcase earlier this year in January. And that went pretty well. And after that, NBA TV reached out and I did a couple of shows with them. And then from there, I had an opportunity to get a call from Amazon. … So it was nothing I planned, but I’m very happy about the next chapter and the role I’m in now.”
FTW: They got you to do the Dougie on set. Do you ever get tired of people asking you to do it?
JW: “I really want to retire it. You know what I mean? So, I really didn’t want to do it. To watch the video, I was like, no, I don’t want to do it. Then, they’re like, you got to do it. Then you see guys like Steve Nash or Blake Griffin, guys that don’t dance, and Udonis [Haslem] get into rhythm with it. You’re like, all right, I got to hit it one time for the people. So I do it.
“And it’s great. I think just me having the opportunity to do my first two shows on Prime, you could just tell by the energy, the camaraderie you have, the vibe, the chemistry that you have. It was just free-flowing. It was fun. It was exciting. So I think we brought some excitement to the show with me up there and me doing a dance. And they kept playing the song. So I was like, all right, I’ll give y’all a snippet.”
FTW: It’s one of those things that helps you stick out in people’s minds. How does it feel to know people still embrace you like that?
JW: “I think it’s great. It’s amazing. I think most importantly, like my mom always instilled in me and told me, it’s better to be known as a better person than just a basketball player. And that’s something I’m always trying to pride myself off of, is just being a great person. The way I treat people, the way I want people to treat me. I think a lot of people that get on our level of being a celebrity or have any status, they use that against people at times. I don’t want to ever use that. I use it as I’m still a normal person just like y’all, I just have an opportunity to play the game at the highest level. So I think the way you treat people is the way people like to see you.”
FTW: Let’s talk NBA. The Warriors have the best record ever at 73-9. Do you think the Thunder can beat that?
JW: “For sure. The crazy part about it is they’re not trying. You know what I mean? I think with the Warriors, when they said they lost in the final, they was tired, they was chasing the record so much. The Thunder, I don’t think they have a full game yet with their whole starting five, or maybe one game. So it’s not like they’re chasing nothing. Their three stars are not even playing in the fourth quarters. Their team is just built the right way. You got to give a lot of credit to their coaching staff, but you also got to give a lot of credit to their leader, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander]. They know every night he’s coming, he’s getting 30, but nobody else on the team cares who’s getting the next 15, who’s getting the next 20.”
FTW: How hard is it as an NBA player to get up for every single game?
JW: “I think just the foundation they built. I never been in a situation where they are, being this great or even winning a championship. But you know, it’s some days you’re walking in and you’re like, man I ain’t got it today or I might not have it until the second quarter or the second half. It’s like [OKC] got a mindset. They got a young team and their pedigree is we’re going to get every win we can. They’re not trying to give a win away no matter who they play, if it’s a bad team or a good team. They’re going out there like, listen, we got an ultimate goal at the end. And I love what Shai said the other day. He said, we’re just stacking days, day by day. We know we won the championship last year, we know it’s hard to repeat, so we’re just stacking days by days. And they’re not going in there underestimating anybody.”
FTW: You have that Kentucky connection with SGA. Did you know he would be this special?
JW: “You knew he was that special since college. When he got there, I think early on he didn’t start, but you could just tell the way he was playing, the way he moved. But I think his rookie year, the way he played with the Clippers, being with a veteran team and them getting to the playoffs and the way he played, I think that was spectacular for him. So he’s always been special, but I think every year he’s getting better. He’s progressing his game, he’s working hard, and he’s always going to be one of those guys nobody can stop.”
FTW: The Clippers have been disappointing this season. What do you think went wrong with them?
JW: “A lot of people look at their team, how they built it up this summer, and on paper, it looks so amazing. But you gotta think, a lot of those guys are a lot older than what they was when they was in their prime. And I think a lot of fans, a lot of media people looked at it and was like, oh man they’re gonna win the championship, or they’re the favorites, or they’re a team that could compete against the Thunder because of who they have. Yeah, they have big names, but it’s at different levels in their career.
“Chris Paul is in year 21. James Harden is still playing at a high level. Kawhi, we know how good he is when he’s out there. And I think with Bradley Beal, he was just trying to find a place where he felt home, he felt happy, and it was there. I talked to him. It’s just devastating he had a season-ending injury. You wish those things don’t happen. But sometimes it looks good on paper, but until you get between those four lines and compete, everything don’t work the way it’s supposed to work.”
FTW: What did you make of them sending Chris Paul home, especially as someone who maybe didn’t get the storybook ending you probably wanted. Could you relate to that?
JW: “I kind of relate to it because I didn’t get the ending I wanted, but it’s a situation I really don’t know what happened. When you hear all the news and media people talk about, oh he had this problem, he had that problem, most of those things stay in the locker room. So I don’t think anybody on the outside will ever know, unless you’re just being too nosy and snooping around. But I hope he gets an opportunity to get back on a team, because I want him to finish his career in the right way. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer, and I think he should have the opportunity to finish it, no matter if it’s with the Clippers or any other team this season.”
FTW: CP is like the last of a dying breed of point guard, pass-first guys like yourself. Do you agree his style of play is almost going extinct?
JW: “Yeah, it’s no true point guards for real. I think you probably have a couple left. Guys like Josh Giddey, Tyrese Haliburton, for sure, that’s pass-first guys. But now in the league — with just basketball period — it’s not really true point guards. It’s combo guards that can score the ball and pass. But in reality, they want their point guards to be scorers. So, I mean, look what Haliburton did last year. Nobody expected the Pacers to get there, and you got to give a lot of credit to him, the way he plays basketball, and having Rick Carlisle over there who’s had a lot of great point guards in his career, with Jason Kidd being over there and things like that. So, true point guards are kind of out the picture. Now, it’s just one-on-one basketball. If you can beat a guy one-on-one in ISO situations, or find a mismatch that you’re waiting for, you can excel in those plays.”
FTW: You’ve also been working with Monumental Sports, back in the Wizards family. What’s your relationship with the team now?
JW: “It’s great. Getting traded from there, that’s a part of the business. And at that time, you’re not really happy and trying to understand what’s going on. So I think to fulfill that joy of getting back around — the fans missed me. I missed them. I missed being in the city, living in the city. So to get the opportunity to see what they’re trying to build over there with their new GM and president and things like that — seeing how they’re trying to get these young guys to understand.
“My point of view, I’m just trying to tell the fans be patient. I know they’re tired of being patient, but you got to be patient. They’re trying to figure out which young guys they want to keep, and then hopefully this year in the draft get a top-two pick and you can get your franchise guy and build from that. You know how it goes. Everything can go how it goes with your team, but you have to find that foundation of who your franchise guy is. But I feel like they have a lot of great young talent, and I think the fans just have to be patient, which is hard because they’ve been patient for the last maybe four or five years.”
FTW: People point to that 2017 series against the Celtics as the year the Wizards were right there, but if you don’t break your hand in 2015 against the Hawks, I think y’all go to the conference finals and give the Cavs a better series than Atlanta. Which year do you feel like was the best?
JW: “Both. Both of those years hurt me, because I know 2015 I break my hand first game. Crazy part is I broke it in the first quarter, didn’t know. My adrenaline was going so much, I just kept playing. And I remember I went back there to try to take a shower after the media, and I just had a puppet hand. I’m like, I can’t wash my back, what am I supposed to do? So that hurt. And then we still had a chance. I come back Game 5 in Atlanta, I blocked Dennis Schroeder’s shot. We just missed the rebound, and they get a layup. Paul Pierce had just hit a three to put us up one. So that one made me mad.
“And then definitely the game against Boston, because you gotta think, Game 1, we up 16-0 to start. I’m like, oh, we got this one. In Game 2, we’re up like eight with two minutes left. All right, we got this one. So, it was the first team that could win a road game, and no team won a road game that whole series. So that was definitely devastating. So, I feel like those two seasons were the two opportunities I had to get to the Eastern Conference championship. So, you know, it’s all about some luck and you got to be healthy, and we didn’t have either one that year.”