LeBron James was quick to show his support for LA Clippers guard John Wall, 31, who made a concerning revelation in a recent interview with the Salvation Army that he wanted to take his own life.
Tearing his Achilles along with suffering the trauma of losing his mother and grandmother, the latter in the middle of the Covid pandemic, left Wall struggling with mental health problems.
“I thought about committing suicide,” the NBA star revealed. “Tearing my Achilles, my mom passing, my grandma dying a year later, in the midst of COVID. Me going to chemotherapy, sitting by my mom taking her last breaths wearing the same clothes for 3 days straight.”
In response to a tweet following Wall's heartbreaking admission that read: “@JohnWall we got your back. Always”, James then wrote: “And I mean ALWAYS!!!!!! Don't ever question it bro!! Proud of you @JohnWall.”
Wall - who has had a history of injury problems - credited his great support system for enabling him to cope with the trauma of recent years. “The mother of my kids has been great. My two boys, that's my motivation for me,” he added. “Looking at all that I was like, 'if I can get through, this I can get through on anything in life.'"
In late, 2017 Wall’s injuries issues began as he dealt with a knee injury that required surgery which he had on January 6th, 2018. He missed around two months of action before returning to the court at the end of that season. Just under a year later in December, Wall suffered a troublesome heel injury that not only required surgery, but soon led to more concerns.
The following month Wall then suffered a fall in his home which led to an unfortunate incident of him tearing his Achilles. To exacerbate things, it was revealed his initial heel injury had suffered an infection in the aftermath of the Achilles surgery. Then after finally returning to play with the Houston Rockets, Wall only featured a handful of times before suffering a grade 2 hamstring strain, before agreeing to a buyout with the team.
Now hoping his injury troubles are completely behind him, Wall hopes for a fresh start after joining the LA Clippers last month. He insisted the choice to team up with other all-stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George was about 'wanting to win'. “A lot of people say you look good on paper.," he continued. "A lot of guys, we're at an age in our careers where we just wanna win. Ain't about trying to be the best player, trying to lead the team in scoring, or trying to be MVP.
“I'm just happy to have the opportunity to play basketball again. I think everything I went through, and I've been through has all been a part of God's plan... I get the opportunity to play with two great players, and the sky's the limit man.”
Clippers President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank announced Wall’s signing in July and per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
“John is one of the great downhill drivers and shot creators of his era,” said Frank. “He will add depth to our backcourt with his initiating, passing and point-of-attack defence.”
Wall has appeared in 613 career games with averages of 19.1 points, 9.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds over 10 seasons with the Washington Wizards and Houston Rockets.
