Former NBA player John Wall was once the face of the Washington Wizards franchise. The 2010 No. 1 overall pick out of Kentucky was known for his dynamic speed, quickness and elite passing ability.
During his 11 seasons with the Wizards, Wall a five-time NBA All-Star, helped turn the Wizards from a perennial lottery team into a perennial playoff team.
That is until the injury bug began to take hold of Wall’s body causing him to be unwanted by every NBA franchise at just 33 years old.
Despite being a member of the Los Angeles Clippers last season, Wall hasn’t seen much time on the NBA hardwood since he was traded to the Houston Rockets in 2020. The Rockets and Wall even came to an agreement that he wouldn’t even play in 2021 as they opted to develop their young players. So in essence Wall made $42 million to sit on the bench.
That and other life changes played a huge role in Wall’s mental health, and the once dynamic guard recently revealed he thought about taking his own life.
Wall Talks Mental Health Struggles
During his recent appearance on “The OGs Podcast” Wall told hosts Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller that injuries and his mom’s death were huge reasons for his mental health struggles.
“If it wasn’t for my two boys, I would’ve killed myself. I put a gun to my head twice. A lot of people close to me at the time, they know. I had a video that came out, throwing gang signs and stuff like that. That’s when I was in my darkest moment, trying to figure out how to find happiness. I was like, man, if I take myself away from this earth, I’m failing my kids, like who’s gonna be there to raise them?
That’s deep, and to hear Wall say that despite making a boatload of money ($277 million) in his NBA career, he still wasn’t happy says a lot. Money can’t buy happiness, and hearing Wall talk about his struggles is a prime example of that very thing.
Wall Still Hopes To Return To Court
Although he hasn’t played this season, Wall is continuously hooping. Videos of him at open runs with former NBA and college players always seem to pop up, so you know he’s keeping himself in shape hoping to get that call. For a while it looked as if he’d be joining the Clippers again this season, but they traded for James Harden.
Wall told the aforementioned Haslem and Miller former NBA champions with the Miami Heat, that he’s not giving up on playing again, and would like to join the Heat because he feels he’d be an asset.
“1,000 percent. I talk about that all the time. You, know what I mean? Just feel like I can help them a lot,” Wall said.
He even mentioned how he understands they added Terry Rozier, a talented scorer and playmaker, but he feels he could help them in that role as well. Even if it meant coming off the bench.
