One of the fastest players ever to lace up a pair of sneakers is hanging them up.
Former Kentucky guard **[John Wall](https://247sports.com/Player/John-Wall-59478)** officially announced his retirement after playing 11 seasons in the NBA with the Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Over 11 career seasons in the NBA, Wall averaged 18.7 points, 8.9 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.6 steals over 647 career games with 604 starts with five NBA All-Star appearances and an All-NBA distinction in 2017, when he averaged career-highs in points (23.1), assists (10.7), and steals (2.0) per game while shooting a career-best 45.1% from the floor.
Wall hadn't appeared in an NBA game since the 2022-23 season.
A former 5-star recruit out of Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C., Wall was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect and No. 1 point guard in the 2009 class according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He chose the Wildcats over Memphis, Miami, NC State and North Carolina.
During his lone season in Lexington in 2009-10, Wall became the first national player of the year in program history as winner of the Adolph Rupp Trophy. He was also named 2010 USBWA National Freshman of the Year, consensus First Team All-American, Associated Press and Coaches 2010 SEC Player of the Year, AP SEC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-SEC and SEC Tournament MVP.
Averaging 16.6 points and 6.5 assists, Wall helped lead UK to a No. 1 national ranking, the SEC regular season and tournament championships. He set the school's single-season assists record with 241, which was later broken in 2016 by Tyler Ulis, as the Wildcats went 35-3 and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament's Elite 8.
Wall was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of the 2017 class. Wall watched his Wildcats take down Florida 65-59 and served as the honorary "Y" in the second half before a season-high 20,489 fans in February of 2020.
After becoming Kentucky's first-ever No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick, Wall went on to make five straight NBA All-Star appearances from 2014-18 including a Third Team All-NBA selection in 2017, the former No. 1 overall pick signed a guaranteed contract with the Washington Wizards worth over $200 million in July of 2017.
After that, however, Wall's career took a left turn.
In January of 2019, Wall was shut down after undergoing surgery on his left heel and then suffered a torn Achilles tendon that kept him out for 12 months. After being dealt to Houston as part of the Russell Westbrook trade, Wall and the Rockets mutually agreed he would not play while the club focused on developing its young core.
In July of 2022, Wall signed with the Los Angeles Clippers on a 2-year, $13.2 million contract but in February of 2023, Wall was traded back to the Rockets as part of a 3-team deal involving the Memphis Grizzlies and waived three days later.