The Washington Wizards’ practice court had not been this loud in months.
On Saturday afternoon, squeals and slurs of self-critical profanity emanated from a single source, echoing off the walls. When a pullup jump shot clanked off the rim, the new guy with the megaphone-level voice shouted in disgust: “Hildred!” But when his handles looked crisp and those shots caressed the net, he turned and made eye contact with the onlookers examining his every move, and with a big smile exclaimed, “Nothing you can do with him!”
Yes, Johnathan Hildred Wall Jr. — the thunderous trash-talker, instant serving of passion and not to mention the Washington Wizards’ best player — has returned to full participation in practice.
Seven weeks after undergoing a debridement in his left knee, Wall completed his first full-contact practice. He tested his repaired body in five-on-five play and looked aggressive on both the offensive and defensive ends, his teammates and coach said.
The Wizards have not revealed a timetable for Wall — who tentatively is scheduled to speak with reporters next week, according to the team’s public relations staff. Wall and the team’s medical staff will have the final say on his return. However the completion of an entire practice indicates that he will soon be able to make that call.
“He’ll be back in no time,” Coach Scott Brooks said. “As a coach, I like to see him out there … He gives us that edge.”
On Saturday, the Wizards practiced longer than they normally would following a game. Bradley Beal described the session as “intense,” and Wall played no small role in ramping up the atmosphere. Always on level 10, Wall pushed teammates physically as well as verbally.
“He’s fiery. He’s competitive. He gets on guys. He cheers guys on,” Brooks said. “You need that.”
In return, teammates left their gloves at the door. Kelly Oubre Jr. didn’t care that Wall had not competed this hard since late January. Wall showed no tentativeness and Oubre showed no mercy.
“Nah, he’s a soldier, man. I’m a soldier. Like, if you’re on the court, you’re healthy. You’re ready to go,” Oubre said. “So, Coach matched me, him and Brad up and we all went at it and pushed each other like we always do. It was definitely something that was very fun to see him back out there and going full speed.”
Wall’s return, at least to practice, should inject the dragging Wizards (40-32) with a dose of adrenaline. In two straight losses, Washington has lacked offensive gusto at the start of games and scored just 16 points in the opening quarter against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
“I think it’s going to help in a numerous amount of ways because John’s pace is definitely missed by us,” Beal said, referring to Wall’s pending return and its impact on the team.
“His transition game. His ability to be able to get into the paint and draw in the defense and be able to kick out for threes,” Beal continued. “Those are things that we highly miss. Just his intensity and passion. It’s definitely going to be exciting to have him back, I would say as long as he’s confident in himself and 100 percent and healthy — welcome back.”
Wall should also help teammates curb some of their mental mistakes. For instance, the Nuggets came to town as one of the best three-point shooting teams but often defenders did not fight over screens to limit those long-distance looks. The Wizards allowed shooters to hit 50 percent on 34 attempts from beyond the arc.
While Wall is not a substantial three-point shooter, his presence on the floor puts defenders on high alert.
“He brings the juice. He brings the energy level up. We practice pretty hard and our guys have great habits but when you’re talking about one of the best players in the league, that raises the level in the gym,” Brooks said. “The awareness level’s up, the energy, the attention to detail, everything is up. When you’re going against him, you better be locked in because he can put you in some pretty embarrassing positions.”
After the one-hour workout, this energy extended to shooting drills for the point guards. Tomas Satoransky and Tim Frazier went about their work almost noiselessly, but Wall provided the backing vocals in the around-the-world session.
“Alright, T,” Wall yelled after Satoransky swished one shot.
“Awww, Hildred! You [expletive],” he howled after one of his own bricks.
Then, Wall challenged a Wizards staffer to a half-court shooting contest. The volume never turned down, neither did the smile on his face.
“He’s still loud and energetic. That’s just who he is. I think it’s definitely an energy we missed,” Beal said. “Sometimes I tell him he’s a little too loud. But nah, he’s good. It’s good to see him back. I think the team was happy to see him.”
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