Ex-Cat Wall presses forward, full speed ahead

For the first two months of summer, John Wall slogged through a life that was once a blur. The self-proclaimed fastest player in the NBA was relegated to a wheelchair, then crutches, then walking gingerly. He had never moved so slowly for so long.

“Man, (expletive),” he said under his breath. “This is miserable.”

In May, the former University of Kentucky one-and-done star had minor surgery on his right knee and a major operation on his left. He was able to start physical therapy on the right knee immediately, but the left one was stitched and wrapped heavily in a big cast. Wall couldn’t bend his left knee. He couldn’t do anything except prepare for a meticulous recovery process that would keep him off the basketball court for about nine weeks and test his patience in a way he hadn’t experienced as he sped through his first six NBA seasons.

“It was like my left leg was just dead,” said Wall, who worked primarily with Jesse Phillips, the Washington Wizards’ director of player performance and rehabilitation, to return to form. “I had to learn how to bend it again. I had to learn how to jog. I was doing all of these little things - little movements, being attached to machines, this stretch, that stretch, ice this, ice that, again and again and again. It was tough. It was frustrating. Just imagine waking up every day doing little, boring stuff that nobody ever gets to see, and you’re used to doing these big, athletic, fast-twitch things before huge crowds.

“All I heard was, ‘Come back again, put these machines on.’ I had to really lock in. I had lost all the strength in my left leg. No running. No swimming. No basketball. I couldn’t do nothing. To be honest with you, until I was able to play basketball again, every day felt devastating.”

As his seventh NBA season begins, Wall laughs at himself nearly six months post-surgery. He’s back, and though his minutes will be managed early in the season, he expects to be a dynamic all-star point guard once again. He shares his rehab struggles neither for sympathy nor to use as an excuse if he struggles early. He looks back to explain how healthy he is now, mentally and physically. Despite posting the best statistical season of his career in 2015-16, Wall needed to slow down and re-launch as he sneaks closer to his prime. Day by day, exercise by exercise, he strengthened his knee and sharpened his focus on what he needs to do to make the Wizards a perennial contender.

“I think God puts you through every test for a reason,” Wall said. “It was time for me to get my body in shape, get myself better and then not have to deal with little nagging injuries no more.”

Wall admits that he used to be able to dash onto the court, stretch for five or 10 minutes and start playing at a high level. Now, he’s a lot more thoughtful in everything he does. While he was injured, he would watch old videos of his high school and college games. It’s one of his favorite things to do, but now he had plenty of time to assess how far he’s come and how much work he has left.

He looked at the younger Wall and saw a far more explosive athlete than he has been the past three years. So for all the criticism that he’s still more athlete than basketball player, Wall sees clearly how much he’s grown in playing the game without the use of superhuman physical ability. At some point this season, when he feels fully recovered and confident, Wall expects his superior athleticism and his improved fundamentals and mental approach all to intersect. Then perhaps we’ll see his game rise to the level that new Coach Scott Brooks wants.

“The last three years, I didn’t have all my explosiveness,” Wall said. “I showed it at times, but I was dealing with the knee pain. I wasn’t using one leg. I wasn’t exploding and jumping off the left leg like I can. But I was able to show I could play basketball without using all my athleticism. I think that’s what helped me to prepare myself so that when I get older or whenever I start to lose it, I’m still able to play in this league by knowing angles, taking care of my body and knowing how to get to spots.”

Last season, Wall played 77 games and averaged career highs in points (19.9), assists (10.2), rebounds (4.9), and steals (1.9). He also made a career-best 115 three-pointers while shooting 35.1 percent from behind the arc, a decent percentage that tied for the best in his NBA career.

Wall started the season slowly, but for a 59-game stretch from Dec. 1, 2015 to March 27, 2016, he played at a Stephen Curry/Russell Westbrook/Peak Chris Paul level. The numbers: 21.1 points, 10.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds while shooting 43.5 percent overall and 36.5 percent from three. And he did that while his knees were starting to fail him. By April, Wall missed the final five games because the pain was too much.

The 2015-16 season will always be considered a failure because the Wizards finished 41-41 and missed the playoffs after making the postseason and advancing to the second round the previous two years. But as that team struggled through injuries and failed to meet expectations, Wall took an important individual step toward learning how to carry a franchise by remaining in attack mode and influencing every aspect of the game. It would be nice if he didn’t have to take such a pounding this season, but Wall’s responsibilities are still immense. And if he can eliminate some of the clunkers, compete better on defense and play more like he did during that 59-game stretch for an entire season, there should be no criticism about how Wall leads a team.

“I’m shooting the ball better now because, the whole time I couldn’t run, I was just shooting spot shots, trying to get a follow through going, getting my shot to be consistent, in the same form, every time,” Wall said. “Sometimes, I used to shoot it sideways. Sometimes, I’d shoot straight on. So I just locked in and focused on that. And I think having stronger legs will allow me to play longer and compete on both ends without having to take breaks.”

The misery is over. No more agonizing, incremental rehab. Wall can speed again, and perhaps this time, he’ll move with even greater purpose.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 7:41 PM with the headline "Ex-Cat Wall presses forward, full speed ahead."