NBA players have never been shy about spending money on some ridiculous things.
Gilbert Arenas got a shark tank installed in his house. Feeding the sharks? That reportedly ran him around $5,000 a month.
Shaquille O'Neal, meanwhile, bought a Ferrari and later two Lamborghinis he couldn't even fit into . The big man icon then spent big (again). He had them modified. Otherwise, Shaq couldn't even squeeze into them, let alone drive comfortably.
John Wall, though? He has an expense you won't find on either list. The five-time All-Star recently opened up about it while talking to Jabari Young on Forbes' "The Enterprise Zone."
When Wall picks up his phone, the first thing he sees is his late mother, Frances Pulley. As he told Young, his phone background is a photo from the night he won his first NBA game.
That was on Nov. 2, 2010, in the Washington Wizards ' home opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. The former No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky put up 29 points, 13 assists and nine steals, and the Wizards edged the Sixers 116-115 in overtime.
Afterward, Wall went over to his mother and the two hugged. That moment became the picture on his phone. Almost seven years after her death, it's still there. The photo isn't the only way the 11-year NBA veteran has held on to Frances, though.
Frances died in December 2019 after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 58. Wall was still rehabbing his torn Achilles at the time. He was a long way from the court, and now he was without the person he called his best friend.
When someone dies, they get pulled out of our lives. That includes being able to talk to them. Wall found his own way around that, though.
Wall told Young he still texts his mom. Twice a day. Every day. He knows she won't answer. Still, the North Carolina native keeps doing it. For him, it's a way to stay connected to her. And it comes at a cost. A phone bill that some people would consider money down the drain.
"I made sure I paid the [phone] bill for that for the rest of the time I'm going to be on this earth, so I can send my daily text in the morning and my daily text at night," Wall said .
Asked why he does it, Wall didn't talk about grief or closure. He kept it simple. It helps him. The ex-NBA point guard knows his mother will never answer, but as he put it, "I can still send my messages." And nobody else, John said, could ever respond to her the way he'd want.
This actually goes back years. In a 2022 essay for "The Players' Tribune," Wall revealed that he used to call his mother six or seven times a day. Every day. After she passed away, he kept dialing her number just as often. Just to hear her voicemail. Eventually, those calls became texts.
For Wall, it helps. There are still hard days, though. What does he do then? He told Young he sits at home, looks at old pictures and just reflects.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Oct 28, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
