Saturday night saw an NBA game that was highly anticipated for over two years. Five-time NBA All-Star John Wall was traded from the Washington Wizards to the Houston Rockets on December 2, 2020. 738 days later, as a member of the LA Clippers, he was finally able to make his return to D.C. to face his former team in front of 18,000 fans for the first time since the blockbuster deal was made.
Neither Wall nor the game itself disappointed.
“It was amazing, it was dope,” John Wall said after the Clippers' victory. “Just appreciation to the fans for coming out, the city coming out and showing love. It was surreal. Just trying to live in the moment and enjoy every step in the process that was here, and most important for me was to just try to get a win, which we did.”
The Clippers defeated the Wizards, 114-107. John Wall finished with 13 points, three assists, and two steals in his first start of the 2022-23 NBA season. Paul George led all scorers with 36 points to go along with seven rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. Wall played in Washington as a member of the Rockets, but no fans were permitted in the building for that game. Thus, it didn't really feel like a homecoming.
This time around, all eyes were on Wall from the second fans were allowed to enter Capital One Arena. Following his pregame warm up routine, Wall signed every single autograph request from Wizards fans scattered throughout the first row of the lower bowl leaning over the railings. In the 10-15 minutes he spent with fans, a teary-eyed Wall must've signed hundreds of combined hats, t-shirts, jerseys, basketballs, and sports cards before heading back to the Clippers locker room for his final preparations.
Wall's fighting back emotions during the autograph signings set the tone for what would be an emotional night.
A clearly emotional John Wall signing autographs for fans for over 10 minutes before Clippers-Wizards.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 11, 2022
“Just being in that moment and going on runs here when I played for 10 years, just knowing how much this city means to me. It's always a second home to me. Kind of flash back and forget I'm in a different jersey. That's what I've been doing for a lot of years in my career when I was here, and I think that was a lot of appreciation I get here and how much effort I give when I step between those four lines. Just to see the crowd stand up, I'm like, ‘damn, my mind feels like I'm still in a Wizards jersey.' It was a dope moment for me.”
There were a few notable moments to look forward to heading into into Saturday's game:
1. The starting lineup introductions and how fans would react.
2. The Wizards tribute video for Wall and how he/the fans would react.
3. How would Wall play?
With about 7:39 remaining in the second quarter, John Wall blocked Taj Gibson's shot and turned it into a fast break opportunity for his Clippers. Wall hit the mid-range jump shot, giving him six consecutive points. Washington called timeout immediately after, and Wall let D.C. faithful hear it.
“This is still my city!,” he yelled
John Wall steals, scores, and hypes up the crowd yelling, "This is still my shit!"pic.twitter.com/ksSgKEMrGJ
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 11, 2022
There was another moment that cameras didn't really capture before tipoff. Wall stood next to a court-side seat and appeared to just take some sort of moment in. After the game, Wall revealed the seat he was staring at was the one his mother, the late Frances Pulley, would sit in for games she attended.
“I'm just thinking about all the history I have here,” John Wall explained his emotions heading into the game. “So many people I touched here, so many people touched me, watched me grow from a young boy to a man. I looked over at the seats where my mom would used to be sitting at and the other four seats where my family used to sit at and just try to fantasize and be in that moment for a little bit. Just being here, it's still so surreal to me.
“Still don't feel right. It still feels different, but I enjoyed every part of this game and I'm glad we got a win. It was a lot of chills, try not to cry, holding back a lot of emotions and kind of be in the moment of the game and try to win.”
In the end, the game was an old chapter officially closed in the career of John Wall's. He, however, refuses to use that word when asked if Saturday night's game give him closure.
“No, I'm still not saying goodbye,” Wall said. “You never know what the future can hold. Never saying goodbye. It's no closure for me. It's just another step in the ground where I got an opportunity to see the people that loved me and seen me grow from a 19 year old little boy to a grown man and have two kids and embracing me and my whole family like we're from here. I'm gonna continue to show my love and support for this city and the people that's always been for me and that's never gonna change.”
Who knows, maybe John Wall does end up returning to Washington D.C. to close out his career with the Wizards at some point.
In the meantime, he'll turn his attention to the Clippers and continue the pursuit towards an NBA Championship.
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