Did you know that Monday was the fifth anniversary of John Wall's first home game for the Washington Wizards?
That's right. On November 2, 2010, the Wizards hosted the Philadelphia 76ers in their home opener at Verizon Center. When Wall's name was called in the starting lineup, we saw him do the Dougie (embedded above).
That dance showed us that he could bust more moves than than the "Twist Fist," which was one of a few things the city knew about him when he was drafted. It also sparked former ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd's obsession with not liking Wall ever since. I still don't think that Cowherd's gotten over it today, but I digress.
After falling behind by as many as 14 points early in that game, the Wizards ultimately ended up leading during most of regulation.
But then the 4th quarter happened. Washington seemed to do everything they could to give the game away and were down by as many as four points with just over a minute to go. But with three seconds left, Cartier Martin happened, and the game went to overtime.
In overtime, Wall scored four points and Andray Blatche scored the game winning free throws to give Washington a close 116-115 victory over the 76ers who had Andre Iguodala, Jrue Holiday, and famed "Wizards Killer" Lou Williams at the time. Since the Wizards entered this game with an 0-2 record, it was also Wall's first taste of victory in a Wizards uniform.
The win wasn't just a bright moment in an otherwise poor 2010-11 season when Washington went 23-59. Wall impressed the crowd with a stat line of 29 points, 13 assists, and nine steals. That's right. He almost had a triple double with steals!
And for your viewing pleasure here's a highlight reel of Wall's performance on that night. He was raw, but it certainly was a glimpse of what was ahead for the Wizards' future:
Looking back, boy am I glad that Wall's the point guard of my favorite team! How about you?