John Wall is ready to make a comeback, an All-star level comeback.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the Rockets’ newly acquired point guard participated in his first practice with the team, and said it was a “surreal” feeling.
While he remains appreciative of the Wizards’ organization and wishes them all the best next season, Wall has newfound hopes for his future with the Rockets:
“I was a skinny kid, 19 years old with no facial hair and didn’t know where I was going in life,” Wall said per ESPN. “They watched me grow up and be this grown man that has two beautiful boys and has a family at home. That’s all I can say. I love them. My heart is always going to be there. The way I touched the fans, the way I touched that community, that still exists today and that will still exist until the day I’m off this Earth.”
“I wish that whole team, the organization the best of luck this year, but my main focus is with my new team, the Rockets, and what I’m trying to accomplish: come back and be an All-Star player and be that player that everybody feels like I don’t have no more.”
With the season quickly approaching, Wall’s debut with the Rockets will be his first NBA appearance since 2018. A five-time All-Star, he averaged 19 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 9.2 assists throughout his career, but suffered from a ruptured Achilles.
Wall says he’s determined to get back on the hardwood and show fans that he is still the same John Wall:
“I’m going to be John Wall no matter what when I get on that court, but at the same time, me being out and me just looking at how much longer I want to play and certain things I want to improve on, I’m able to do certain things that I wasn’t able to do before when I was injured and playing through certain things,” said Wall per ESPN.
“That’s why I feel like my game is going to evolve because I’m finally healthy and don’t have those little nagging injuries that I was dealing with over the last six or seven years. People will finally get to see at some point what I was playing through and what I was going through.
“To be doing what I was doing on one leg basically lets me know how special I am.”
