Washington Wizards: 3 Takeaways From 2018 Training Camp

Takeaway #1: John Wall’s Sense of Urgency and Purpose

John Wall has been one of the league’s premier point guards for several seasons. Since arriving in Washington, he’s been able to change the fortunes of the Wizards franchise. Washington hasn’t been able to quite reach the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, but they’ve gone from bottom feeders to a perennial playoff team in Wall’s eight seasons. A five-time All-Star, Wall is recognized as one of the better players in the NBA. For him, there’s always been one accolade missing from his resume though: an NBA championship.

Wall has been very candid about his desire to win over the course of his career, but this offseason he’s spoken about it at length. In response to owner Ted Leonsis claiming that the Wizards’ goal should be to win 50 games and reach the Eastern Conference finals, Wall spoke about his own personal desire to win a championship.

“If I don’t win a championship,” he said in an interview with NBC Sports Washington, “I feel like my career was a failure.”

At first glance, that seems like a silly thing for a player like Wall to say, given the accolades and accomplishments he’s racked up in his career. But take a deeper look, and that quote tells you a lot about Wall’s mindset and motivation heading into this portion of his career. It’s clear that John Wall wants to win – and it’s also clear that he will do whatever is asked of him to accomplish that goal. If Wall needs to score, he’ll do that. If he needs to facilitate and get his teammates involved, he’ll do that too. He doesn’t shy away from guarding opposing point guards, elite or not. That level of dedication to the team and the improvement of everyone around him is what makes John Wall the unquestioned leader of this team.

Wall missed most of last season due to injury, and the Wizards suffered as a result. They went from a top 4 team in the East to barely making the playoffs, losing in the first round to the first-seeded Toronto Raptors. With Wall healthy – and with his focus on winning seemingly clearer than ever before – last year is looking more like an exception than a trend.