Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
John Wall was recently recognized for his impact on defense by being selected to the NBA‘s All-Defensive second team, but he was not named to any of the three All-NBA teams. Wall is likely to use this snub as fuel to become an even better player. That is a scary thought for the other PGs in the Eastern Conference, because he basically outplayed all of them while bracing himself through five different fractures in his hand and wrist during most of this postseason. The Washington Wizards did not get the result they wanted against the Atlanta Hawks, but it was not his fault that Washington lost.
If a player on a team I cover doesn’t deserve an accolade Ill say so. But Wall losing out to Kyrie is a joke #WizardsTalk @CSNWizards #NBA
— J. Michael (@JMichaelCSN) May 21, 2015
Wall averaged 17.6 PPG, 10 APG, 4.6 RPG and 1.9 SPG during the regular season, and the two-time All-Star was the NBA’s second-leading assister. He also tallied 17.4 PPG, 11.9 APG and 4.7 RPG in seven playoff battles despite the five broken bones suffered in Game 1 against Atlanta.
It must be noted that voting happens before the postseason, but Wall’s case to make one of the three teams was still pretty clear. Kyrie Irving is probably the man who should have gotten the third-team snub over the Wizards’ PG; however, I’m sure that would have been roundly criticized by LeBron James and others in the Ohio area. Was this a case of the media avoiding criticism from the league’s best player? I think so, and the media members who voted on the teams should be ashamed of themselves for allowing this to happen.
Irving’s spot is really the only one up for debate that could have belonged to Wall, but the media still missed. We can expect John to come back next season with his sights set on becoming the league’s best PG as a result.
Dave Daniels is a Washington Wizards Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter: @AllDave_AllDay, like him on Facebook here or add him to your network on Google.
