Former Washington Wizards star guard John Wall recently announced his retirement from the NBA after he played 11 seasons with three teams. Wall earned five All-Star appearances over the course of his NBA career, all coming as a member of the Wizards.
Perhaps Wall’s defining trait when he was at the peak of his powers in the NBA was his incredible quickness. Wall could blow by defenders on his way to the basket with ease in his prime and was also a blur in the open court.
At one point in his pro career, Wall even crowned himself the fastest guard in the league. But a fellow star guard at the time apparently had a problem with his assertion: Russell Westbrook. Westbrook’s former teammate on the Oklahoma City Thunder Kendrick Perkins told an amusing story about the matter.
“One year, he (Wall) was like, ‘I’m the fastest guard in the league,'” Perkins said. “And I was in Oklahoma City, and Russ was like, ‘Oh, he got me f—– up.’ And we played them, and I’ve never seen — Russ was one of them ones where he would put in his head something about the guy he was playing against and go at him. And it was like, ‘What the f—?’ He went out like a f—— maniac. But it was just a little fun, competitive thing.”
Westbrook was another one of the fastest and most athletic guards in the NBA at the time along with Wall. For several seasons, the two players were in their prime at the same time.
Unlike with Wall, Westbrook is still looking to continue his pro career all these years later, however. Westbrook remains an unsigned free agent after he played a valuable complementary role for the Denver Nuggets last season.
In his 17th season in the league, he averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game while shooting above his career averages from the field and 3-point range. For as great as he played for Denver at his advanced age, reporting has indicated that Westbrook is not expected to return to the Nuggets.
One team that’s been linked to Westbrook in recent rumors has been the Sacramento Kings. Reportedly, the Kings are trying to create room in their backcourt to add Westbrook to the fold, and the team is said to be dangling guard Malik Monk in trade talks.
It seems surprising that Westbrook has yet to find a new NBA home, but he certainly still has a chance to land a deal before the offseason ends. The former No. 4 overall pick back in the 2008 NBA Draft appears to still have some productive basketball left in the tank.
