Howard tabs John Wall as president of basketball ops

Field Level Media|published: 04/30/2026, 11:42am EDT

Jan 29, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Former Washington Wizards guard John Wall looks on before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Five-time NBA All-Star and former top overall draft pick John Wall is returning to the Washington.

ESPN reported on Thursday that Wall has become the president of basketball operations at Howard, based in D.C. and a top-ranked HBCU program.

Wall played the first nine seasons of his NBA career with Washington after being selected by the Wizards with the top overall pick of the 2010 draft out of Kentucky. He averaged 19.0 points, 9.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 573 career games (561 starts) with Washington.

Wall, 35, served as Howard's honorary captain for the team's game against Norfolk State on Jan. 31. Per ESPN, he reportedly expressed to the school of having an interest in serving as president of basketball operations at the NBA level one day.

Wall will work alongside Howard coach Kenny Blakeney and team general manager Daniel Marks in his new role.

Wall, who did not play in 2019-20, was involved in a blockbuster trade with the Houston Rockets on Dec. 2, 2020, that saw Russell Westbrook sent to Washington. The Wizards sent Wall and a first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft to the Rockets for Westbrook and a lottery-protected first-round pick in the same 2023 draft.

Wall played one season in Houston (2020-21), sat out the 2021-22 season with an injury and came back to compete in 34 games with the Clippers in 2022-23. He officially retired from the NBA on Aug. 19, 2025.

--Field Level Media