For nine seasons, John Wall was the main attraction in Washington, D.C. The former No. 1 overall pick dazzled with the Washington Wizards, making five All-Star games during his fantastic run with the team.
After a few years away, Wall is ready to make his D.C. return. It won’t come with the Wizards, however, it will come at Howard University.
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Wall reportedly joined the HBCU as its president of basketball operations, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
It will be a new challenge for Wall, who has worked as a broadcaster since leaving the NBA after the 2022-23 season. Wall doesn’t have a ton of experience as a basketball executive, though did purchase a stake in South East Melbourne — an NBL team — in 2020.
Wall does have a history of excellence in the sport, though. After starring at Kentucky for one year, Wall opted to enter the NBA Draft, where the Wizards took him with the first pick.
He was a star with the Wizards, averaging 19.0 points and 9.2 assists in nine seasons with the team. But injuries started to take a toll on Wall near the end of his tenure with the team. After playing in a combined 73 games over the previous two years, Wall missed the entire 2019-20 NBA season after undergoing multiple surgeries.
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He was traded to the Houston Rockets the following year, and appeared in 40 games with the team. Wall then missed the entire next season with the team after it opted not to play him in an effort to develop its young talent.
Wall spent one more year in the NBA, playing in 34 games with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2022-23 season. He averaged 11.4 points per game.
While Wall expressed some desire to continue his NBA career in 2025, he eventually joined Amazon Prime Video as an analyst for the 2025-26 NBA season.
Wall will inherit a Howard team coming off a promising season. After going 24-11, Howard beat UMBC in the first four to advance to the NCAA tournament. The team lost in the first round, where it fell to Michigan, the eventual national champion.
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