John Wall has guarded some of the most skilled players in NBA history. During his career, he went toe-to-toe against prime Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry, and Chris Paul. While he held his own against most, he couldn’t figure out the optimal strategy to stop or slow down Hall of Famer Steve Nash.
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During an appearance on the Knuckleheads Podcast, the former Washington Wizards superstar claimed that the Phoenix Suns icon was the first person to ‘bust his a*s‘ in the NBA. Even though it’s been 14 years since his first meeting against Nash, Wall remembers it like it was yesterday. He said,
“He went [perfect from the field] against me. I was like, there’s no way in hell he’s cooking me like this. But yeah, that’s the first one that gave me the ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment, for sure.”
Wall added that the Suns superstar’s impeccable display prompted him to stop focusing on getting shots up and instead put all his energy on the defensive end to stop the onslaught. However, his shift in mindset was to no avail.
Nash finished the game 8-of-8 from the field, and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. He scored 20 points, dished 17 assists, and hauled in three rebounds, leading the Suns to a 17-point win with a vintage display. Wall scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting, his third-lowest tally until that point in his rookie season.
The former Wizards guard’s ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment was an eye-opener, but his ‘Welcome to College‘ moment at Kentucky made him want to leave the program.
John Wall’s ‘Welcome to College’ Moment
The transition from college to the NBA can be extremely arduous for players, regardless of how highly rated they were coming into the league. However, Wall’s transition from high school to college was tougher than his debut season in the NBA.
During an appearance on the Run Your Race podcast last year, he spoke about his rough start to life in Kentucky. He said,
“Yea, practice bro, I ain’t gonna lie. I’ll tell you this, f*** practice. I wanted to go. I wanted to transfer. So I had been like, coach was telling me this, telling me that, but you know, at the same time, I was like ‘man, I ain’t really gonna listen to you, you gonna play me regardless, you got no choice, I’m me.’ And he was like ‘I don’t give a f*** who you is, you can sit a game or two.”
With time, he got more accustomed to legendary head coach John Calipari’s taxing training sessions. He had a stellar season with the team, averaging 16.6 points, 6.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals. His excellent campaign prompted the Wizards to pick him first overall in the 2010 NBA draft, where he spent 10 seasons and established himself as one of the best players in the franchise’s history.
