WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington Wizards guard John Wall has been named to the All-NBA Third Team, the league announced Thursday.
Wall is the fourth player in franchise history to earn All-NBA Third Team honors (joining Bernard King, Juwan Howard and Gilbert Arenas) and the 13th to earn All-NBA accolades overall. The last Wizard named to the All-NBA Third Team was Arenas in 2005-06.
“It is a great honor to be named to the All-NBA team for the first time,” said Wall. “Although this is an individual award, I consider it to be a team accomplishment and a reflection of the success and improvement we had this season. I wouldn’t be in this position without the hard work that my teammates and coaching staff put in on a daily basis and without the constant support and love from my family. On behalf of the team, I would also like to thank our amazing fans for being there for us all season–we all look forward to reaching new levels together for years to come.”
This season, Wall became the first player in league history to average at least 20.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. He averaged career highs in scoring (23.1), field goal percentage (.451), assists (10.7) and steals (2.0). Wall joined James Harden and Russell Westbrook as the only players to average a point/assist double-double during the regular season.
Wall had the third-most double-doubles (50) among NBA guards and had the third-most games (49) with 10 or more assists. He also led the Eastern Conference in assists (831) for a fourth straight season, one of three players to do so in league history (Isiah Thomas from 1980-86; Rajon Rondo from 2008-12).
For his efforts, Wall was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to make four straight All-Star games. He was also tabbed the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December and was a two-time Player of the Week honoree.
With Wall at the helm, the Wizards won 49 games (the most since the 1978-79 season), claimed the Southeast Division title (the first division title since the 1978-79 season) and returned to the playoffs, joining Cleveland as the only other team in the East to advance to the semifinals in three of the last four seasons.
During Washington’s postseason run, Wall averaged 27.2 points, 10.3 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals. He became just the eighth player in league history to average at least 25 points and 10 assists in the playoffs (minimum three games). Of those eight players, only Wall and Westbrook (2015-16) maintained those averages for more than 10 playoff games in a single postseason.