John Wall has heard the critiques of his supermax contract and he's using it as inspiration to get back to his peak form.
In an interview with The Athletic, the former All-Star who has suffered an unfortunate string of injuries over the last two seasons said that the criticism of his max contract is motivation for him.
"It fuels me. [The 20]16-17 [season] was my best year. [Averaged] 23 [points] and 11 [assists]. John Wall is a top-two point guard. I get injured. John Wall is not a top-five point guard? Now, because I'm injured, I can't defend myself. Now I've got the worst contract ever? That's fine," he said.
Wall also said that he earned the contract via his previous play.
"I deserved that contract. My whole mindset is—it's in my notes—I didn't deserve it? When I come back, I'm going to show them I earned it," he said.
Wall said that he doesn't "want a handout" and that he'll return to the Wizards to prove his haters wrong. He added that his longevity is another indicator that he's worth the money the Wizards gave him, even if he's out for the entire next season with an Achilles injury.
"I'm going to prove myself. You get the hype," he said. "I look back at it. My '09 class in high school, I can only name probably nine guys in the league. Out of my draft class, it's maybe eight guys in the league. It is what it is."
He also talked about the current state of the league, as well as his championship aspirations, or lack thereof. “It seems right now, everybody’s got a dynamic duo,” Wall said. “Two stars…Now it’s back to two stars. It was three stars. We had two stars. We didn’t have a third one. But I’m not a guy that’s trying to chase it. I’d rather build my legacy here than to get a ring. I want a ring for the city, trust me. It’s great to have an NBA championship. I go back to Kentucky, I don’t have a national championship but my resume is bigger than anyone else that’s been there since I left. Know what I mean? Winning a ring is not everything. It’s great. It’s not everything.”
