Washington Wizards All-Star John Wall has only missed eight games to injury over the past three seasons. This came after three injury-filled years to start his NBA career.
That’s the good news for fans in D.C.
The bad news?
Wall just underwent surgery on both of his knees after his Wizards team concluded a disappointing 2015-16 campaign.
Here’s an official press release from the Wizards announcing the procedures.
The three-time All-Star had this to say:
BREAKING: @JohnWall speaks just moments before knee surgery.https://t.co/SgRTB4NoBA
— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) May 5, 2016
He added (via the team’s official website):
“I am determined to lead this team back to the playoffs and getting healthy is the best way for me to accomplish that. I can promise the fans, my teammates and the organization that I will be focused on that goal throughout the summer and it will drive me to do everything I can to be ready for next season.”
The procedures will keep Wall from taking part in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Though, he’s fully expected to be back in time for the 2016-17 season.
Washington is coming off a disappointing 41-41 season that culminated in the firing of Randy Wittman.
With Scott Brooks now manning the bench, the team faces an uncertain summer. Bradley Beal, who missed 27 games to injury this past regular season, is slated to become a restricted free agent. Jared Dudley and Nene Hilario will also join him on the open market.
The key here is not only going to be finding a way to retain Beal, but adding more pieces to a roster that seems to be too top-heavy to compete for a conference title.
For his part, Wall is coming off his best season. He averaged 19.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 10.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game while shooting a career-best 35 percent from three-point range.