Kyrie reflects on his epic battles with John
Currently, we inhabit an era predominantly influenced by prominent forwards, exemplified by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the first guard to secure the MVP award since James Harden in 2018.
However, approximately a decade ago, the landscape was markedly different.
The NBA was characterised as a guard-centric league, featuring luminaries such as Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, John Wall, Kyle Lowry, and Isaiah Thomas competing vigorously.
During a period when the prevailing narrative suggested the decline of centres, players like Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Victor Wembanyama, Karl-Anthony Towns, Domantas Sabonis, Rudy Gobert, and Kristaps Porzingis emerged and dominated the league.
Although exceptional point guards persist in the NBA today, their prime was approximately ten years ago, with Irving and Wall being selected as the No. 1 pick in consecutive years. Kyrie recently reflected on that era during a Twitch session.
Let me give John Wall his flowers. He set the precedent being the No.1 pick, being a point guard, being everything that you could want and being an exciting guard in the NBA. Both of us came onto the scene later on in the rankings,” Irving said
For us to go back-to-back was generational. …Two point guards going back-to-back No.1 picks, I don’t think we’ll see that again in the best league in the world. …So many great matchups against him, so many great moments of just us being ultra competitive because our towns, the hood back at home, was talking about who was better between us two. It made me who I am today,” Kyrie added.
Wall will be remembered for his eight seasons with the Wizards
There was a time in the NBA when Wall was considered possibly the best point guard in the league. In the 2015–2016 season, he finished 7th in MVP voting, was also selected to five All-Star Games and made the All-NBA Third Team once. John’s career-best season was 2016–2017, when he averaged 23.1 points, 10.7 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 45% from the field—all career highs.
Wall will mostly be remembered for his eight seasons with the Washington Wizards, where he formed one of the league’s best backcourts with Bradley Beal. Caron Butler even went as far as to say that, before Giannis Antetokounmpo’s rise, John was right behind LeBron Jamesas the best player in the Eastern Conference.
“I think that a lot of people forgot about how good those guys were together and how good John Wall was,” Butler said on the “Off The Bench” podcast in 2020. “For a moment, for a stretch, back in 2017, which wasn’t long ago, before the emergence of Giannis, we were talking about John Wall possibly being the second-best player in the Eastern Conference, and that was with LeBron James over there.”
The brilliance of Wall
John, a quintessential floor general and one of the swiftest athletes in NBA history, was formidable during his heyday.
Injuries influenced his career, and regrettably, following the pivotal 2017–2018 season, Wall was unable to regain his previous performance level.
He participated in merely 106 additional games for the remainder of his career. The rivalry consisted of 18 encounters on the floor, with Kyrie possessing a 10–8 advantage, during which Irving averaged 24.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. Wall averaged 22.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 9.6 assists per game.
What is their most notable duel? An overtime contest between the Boston Celtics and the Wizards concluded with a score of 130-125.
Irving made two three-pointers in the last 40 seconds of overtime, including a decisive one “from another planet” directly in Wall’s face. Kyrie concluded with 38 points and seven assists, while John recorded 34 points and 13 assists.
It was a privilege to observe the exceptional ball-handlers, two rapid finishers at the rim, and two virtuosos with the ball compete against each other.
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