There are some legends who know when the end is near, and then there are others who only learn of their ending when they are no longer wanted. 

After 11 years in the NBA, former Washington Wizards star point guard John Wall has officially announced his retirement from the league despite not having played in an NBA game since playing for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2022-2023 season. 

The end comes the way it does with most NBA stars, after a series of knee injuries that limited Wall’s ability, the former number one pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, will end his career with “averages of 18.7 points, 8.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals, while shooting 32.2% from beyond the arc,” CBS Sports reports.

Wall spent nine years as the face of the Wizards franchise before he was traded in 2020 to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook.  

Wall averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals as a rookie and “finished second in the league's Rookie of the Year Award behind then-Clippers star Blake Griffin,” CBS Sports reports. Wall didn’t just start with the Wizards; he ended up leading the franchise to the playoffs four times and two Eastern Conference semifinals.

After signing a two-year, $13 million deal with the Clippers in 2022, Wall played in only 34 games in his only year with the team before being traded back to the Rockets in February 2023, as a throw-in on a three-team trade that included the Memphis Grizzlies. 

“In total, Wall was a five-time All-Star, a member of the All-NBA Third Team (2017), a member of the NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2015), and won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2014. Wall leaves the sport as the fourth-highest leading scorer in Wizards history with 10,879 career points and only trails Elvin Hayes (15,551), Bradley Beal (15,391) and Jeff Malone (11,083),” CBS Sports reports. 

Wall was already a legend in high school after having one of the most beloved basketball mixtapes on YouTube, as the No. 2 prospect in the 2009 class before arriving at Kentucky. He starred in his freshman season, averaging 16.6 points, 6.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals, while shooting 46.1% from the field. Wall would declare for the NBA Draft next year.