John Wall: The Most Underrated Season of His Career
John Wall may have somewhat of a negative reputation right now, but he is still one of the most explosive players the NBA has ever seen. The supermax contract may look bad now, but before the freak injury, Wall was arguably a top-five point guard in the league. As a result, this makes him a great player to look at for our “underrated season” series.
John Wall’s 2016-17 Campaign
During the 2016-17 season, things were really clicking for John Wall. He was still the clear-cut leader of the Washington Wizards. Bradley Beal was starting to come into his own as a great backcourt partner but had not quite reached the All-Star level. During this season, the Wizards would retain their place as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference as they finished with a win-loss record of 49-33.
The Wizards would end up losing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but one could argue the team should have given Wall more to work with to compete with a Boston Celtics team led by a prime Isaiah Thomas. That season, I.T. would finish in the MVP conversation and make the All-NBA Team that particular season. Not to mention, that specific Celtics team was extremely well constructed as they came close to an NBA Finals appearance, pushing LeBron James and his Cavs in seven games in the ECF. Regardless, John Wall was still very impressive during the 2016-17 campaign and his numbers prove this statement true.
Wall’s 2016-17 Stats
John Wall had a couple of career-highs during this stint. He came away with 23.1 points, 10.7 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game. On top of this, he shot 45.1% from the field to couple with an effective field goal percentage of 48.2%, the second-best total of his career in this category. Not to mention, Wall recorded a career-high two steals per game that year as well.
John Wall’s advanced analytics during the 2016-17 season were also impressive. Wall tallied an offensive rating of 111 which was yet another career-high. His true shooting percentage was also impressive at 54.1% and he averaged a win share of 8.8. To top everything off, Wall also came away with an impressive assist percentage of 46.9%. John Wall may have been sidelined for the past couple of seasons due to injury, but his 2016-17 season is criminally overlooked and shows how dominant he is when healthy.
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