When John Wall announced his retirement as a player on Tuesday, he referred to “new opportunities” presenting themselves and said he’s ready for his “next chapter.” According to Michael Lee of The Washington Post, the next phase of Wall’s career will involve joining Amazon Prime Video for its studio show in 2025/26.
Although Wall told Lee in a recent phone interview that he still felt like he has “a lot left in my tank” as a player and was disappointed he didn’t get another opportunity on the court, he’s looking forward to staying involved in the NBA by sharing his insights with fans on Prime Video beginning this fall.
“If you never really had the opportunity to sit down and talk to me, you won’t really understand how much I love basketball, where my basketball mind is at, where my IQ is,” Wall said. “I can basically tell you the best player in the country — from girls to boys, high school, to the players that’s in college, to the people that’s at the NBA and WNBA.”
It will be Amazon’s first season as an NBA broadcaster. The streaming giant will air games exclusively on Friday nights through December before adding Thursday and Saturday broadcasts later in the season. Prime Video will also be the home of the knockout round of the NBA Cup in December.
Amazon previously announced that former NBA stars Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki will be part of its studio show, which will be hosted by Taylor Rooks.
In addition to that studio team, Prime Video’s broadcasting roster will include analysts Dwyane Wade, Steve Nash, Candace Parker, Stan Van Gundy, Dell Curry, Brent Barry, and Udonis Haslem, as well as sideline reporters Cassidy Hubbarth, Allie Clifton, and Kristina Pink, and play-by-play announcers Kevin Harlan, Ian Eagle, Michael Grady, and Eric Collins.
Wall, meanwhile, made a few more interesting remarks in his conversation with Lee, noting that he had wanted to remain with the Wizards for his entire NBA career and that he hopes to have his No. 2 jersey retired by the franchise. The former No. 1 overall pick also discussed the health issues that derailed his playing career and ultimately cut it short.
“People think, ‘Oh, he got the money, he’s set for life, he don’t care.’ No, I would give up all the money to play basketball and never deal with none of those injuries,” Wall said. “I didn’t play the game of basketball for money. I played the game of basketball because I love it. I was itching to get back to play. I wasn’t itching to sit on the sideline and collect the check. The check don’t mean [anything].”