The Washington Wizards haven’t been in the Eastern Conference Finals for a long time now, and their 4-3 conference semifinals defeat to the Boston Celtics last season marked the third time in four years that they failed to get past the second round of the playoffs.
All-Star point guard John Wall, however, wants to break that pattern for the Wizards and for himself, in order to avoid suffering the same fate that plagued other top guards such as Chris Paul.
In an interview with Wizards.com (via Zach Rosen), Wall revealed he wants Washington to get over “that hump” and become a team that will compete for the title.
Article Continues Below“I just want to be in the Eastern Conference Finals and get past the second round. I definitely don’t want to be one of those point guards or those guys that never could get past the second round. I think [if] get to the Eastern Conference Finals and then it’s the first team to four gets a chance to be in the Finals,” Wall said.
“You couldn’t ask for more than that. We were one game away.”
Playoff success is indeed important not only for a team but also for the players, particularly for the likes of Wall who is considered the leader of the Wizards. Not to mention that it also helps cement one’s legacy as an NBA player.
Chris Paul, for one, is considered one of the league’s best point guards, but what he has done is often a subject for debate. Before being traded to the Houston Rockets, Paul was with the LA Clippers for six seasons, but the team never reached the Western Conference Finals despite making the playoffs in all of those years and reaching the semifinals three times.
The Wizards have kept their core intact, so Wall will have another chance to make a deep playoff run with Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. However, with the likes of Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics on their way, there’s still no guarantee if Wall can achieve his goal this 2017-18 campaign.