In case the power shift in the NBA was not noticeable before, it certainly is now with superstar forward LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, James' former victims are now clamoring for his throne in the Eastern Conference.

Among the hopefuls are the Washington Wizards. According to Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports, point guard John Wall feels the Wizards can contend for a title in the East this season.

“I feel like we’re all equal,” Wall said. “None of them won a championship. This is no knock on no other team. Don’t get me wrong. Boston is a hell of a team. Philly has great young talent with those guys [Joel] Embiid, [Ben] Simmons. And Toronto, losing DeMar [DeRozan], they still get Kawhi [Leonard]. Y’all might have been to the Eastern Conference finals, where we haven’t been to, but none of y’all were going to the Finals. It was one guy going to the Finals. Ain’t nobody separated from nothing. I know one guy that separated himself from the Eastern Conference every year and that was LeBron James and the Cavs. Other than that … if you lose in the second round, or the conference finals, you still didn’t get to your ultimate goal.

There is no question that the East is now up for grabs with LeBron in Los Angeles. This has resulted in quite the confidence boost for essentially every team that made the playoffs in the East last season. The Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks have wasted no time in voicing their high expectations for next year, and Wall is just the latest star player to speak on behalf of their organization.

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Photo: Silhouette of Jordan Poole in Wizards jersey, Tommy Sheppard

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Alex Sarr and Donovan Clingan in Wizards jerseys

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While some may have a legitimate argument, it remains to be seen whether or not the Wizards can be considered one of them. Washington has seemingly been on the cusp of getting over the second-round hump for the last several years. Unfortunately, the Wizards took a tremendous step back after they were knocked out of the opening round by a Toronto Raptors team that was eventually swept and dismantled over the course of a month.

Wall will certainly have his work cut out for him if he thinks the Wizards can somehow make it work this time around.