John Wall returns to ‘controlled’ practice with Wizards

Wizards star point guard John Wall practiced Sunday in a “really controlled” 4-on-4 setting with his teammates for the first time since he suffered a torn Achilles last year, coach Scott Brooks said.

Wall, 29, had been scrimmaging with Washington’s player development staff over the last few weeks, but has now progressed to on-court work with his teammates. Brooks said the session was far from full speed, noting there was only a 10-second shot clock for each play rather than the normal 24 seconds.

Wall also participated in 3-on-2-on-1 drills, Brooks said.

The Wizards have repeatedly said Wall likely won’t play this season, and Brooks didn’t deviate from that thinking after practice. The coach said the five-time All-Star has a “ways to go” before returning to action.

“These are all steps that he has to take,” Brooks said. “I don’t know if he plays this year. My concern is, is he ready at 100%? We can be patient, and we’re going to be patient because we need him to be right for a lot of years. … We know how serious that injury is. … I wouldn’t look at it as next step he’s playing. He still has work to do.”

In January 2019, Wall tore his Achilles at his home when he slipped heading to the shower. At the time, Wall was already healing from season-ending heel surgery, and the injury set him back further.

But Wall has attacked his rehab since then. Last week in a session open to reporters, Wall looked crisp in a 4-on-4 session with the Wizards’ staff:

Holy hell this pass pic.twitter.com/NAhl5XSY8z

— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) January 13, 2020

John Wall: Still fast pic.twitter.com/lQdFdHX3rv

— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) January 13, 2020

Buzzer beater with the celebration pic.twitter.com/AFKgIQqj6W

— Matthew Paras (@Matthew_Paras) January 13, 2020

Brooks said Wall has remained in positive spirits during his time away.

“That guy is as competitive as I’ve seen an NBA player be,” Brooks said. “… He’s not coming back until he’s 100% ready.”