It’s clear John Wall takes every slight and every instance of him not being mentioned among the best in the NBA as an opportunity for motivation. Ronnie 2K learned that the hard way when Wall’s NBA 2K rating was revealed. Sports Illustrated learned that a few years back when he disagreed with his ranking. There have been countless other instances. Now you can add ESPN’s SportsCenter.
The NBA season is set to begin Tuesday night. Via its SportsCenter Twitter account, ESPN hyped the start of the season with a graphic that included some of the league’s stars. Only issue is Wall was not one of those stars. While Wall was left off, ESPN did include rookie Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers and guard Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers. Wall noted the omission with a simple response in a retweet to the popular show.
Jokes…Let the season begin !! RT @SportsCenter: Welcome back, basketball. pic.twitter.com/YdendPVzho
— John Wall (@JohnWall) October 17, 2017
“Jokes…Let the season begin !!”
It’s interesting that an ESPN account would leave off Wall considering he will be in the network’s first game of the season when the Washington Wizards host the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
From Wizards fans standpoint, there is a mix reaction. Sure, it’s disappointing that the player who consistently ranks in the Top-10 of NBA player rankings and was one of just three players to average 20 points and 10 assists last season — the other two being James Harden and league MVP Russell Westbrook. But on the other hand, the more disrespected Wall is the more motivation he gathers.
The Wizards are regarded as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Wall is considered the best point guard in the East by many experts. So, it’s just a bit baffling to see him get left off a graphic. It’s not like he plays in a bad television market. Still, Wall noted it, and best believe he will try his best to take out all his disappointment on opposing teams in the upcoming season.
