More than three months after being diagnosed with a "stress injury" in his left knee, John Wall scored 14 points off the bench in his NBA season debut as the Washington Wizards won their sixth game of the season Saturday night, 93-83 over the Atlanta Hawks.
Wall, whose minutes are being carefully monitored by Wizards head coach Randy Wittman, played just 21 minutes in the game and made his first appearance of the season with 4:56 left in the first quarter. to a standing ovation from the Verizon Center crowd.
Wall went 5-for-11 from the field, 4-for-5 from the foul line, and chipped in four assists and two rebounds, including a fast-break assist to Bradley Beal, the third overall pick in last June's most recent NBA draft.
The initial diagnosis of a stress injury in Wall's left patella was announced on September 28. At the time, it was believed that Wall would miss approximately eight weeks. Without Wall, the first overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, the Wizards slumped to a record of 5-28 prior to Saturday's game, the worst in the NBA.
Wall missed 13 games in his rookie season due to various injuries, but played in all 66 games of the NBA's lockout-shortened 2011-12 season. For his career, Wall has averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.6 rebounds per game.
