John Wall believes he can still average 12 points and seven assists off the bench, even though he has retired from basketball. In a conversation with Ashley Nicole Moss , the former Washington star spoke about his life after basketball and whether watching his former team made him wonder what might have been.
Wall still works out and thinks about playing, but he sounded comfortable with retirement. And then Moss asked whether he would return on a veteran minimum contract. She brought up a hypothetical role of 20 minutes off the bench and asked what he could produce.
His answer came immediately:
"12-s7, easy."
The confident response should not surprise anybody who watched Wall play. He finished his NBA career with averages of 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 8.9 assists across 647 regular-season games. His speed made him a nightmare in transition, while his passing helped teammates find scoring opportunities without having to create anything for themselves.
His strongest season came in 2016-17 with the Wizards . He averaged career highs of 23.1 points and 10.7 assists, adding 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals. He earned All-NBA Third Team honors and helped the Wizards establish themselves as a dangerous playoff opponent. At that time, very few guards in the NBA could match his combination of scoring, playmaking, and defensive disruption.
His final season offers a more useful comparison for the bench role that Moss described. For the Clippers in 2022-23, Wall averaged 11.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.2 assists in 22.2 minutes per game across 34 appearances. The scoring was close to his current aim, although seven assists in fewer minutes would represent a substantial increase.
There is also a difference between feeling capable of handling the workload and sustaining that production against NBA defenders after years away. Still, Wall's answer was for a hypothetical position. He did not announce a comeback or suggest he was actively seeking a roster spot.
Much of the discussion instead centered on Washington and his attachment to the franchise. Watching the current Wizards run, shoot, and play an athletic style has made him imagine how much fun his prime self could have enjoyed playing alongside them.
But Wall also explained why he never wanted his career to become a search for the easiest championship opportunity.
"Like, I didn't want to go chase because chasing don't mean you always gonna win. And then do you get that love that you get from a place you've been for a long time?"
Injuries left plenty of unanswered questions about Wall's career. Yet none of these possibilities appear to be pulling him back. He still thinks he can score. He believes the scoring and passing are there, but his remarks suggest that proving it to another NBA staff is no longer something he wants to do.
