Watch: Wizards crowd gives John Wall standing ovation in his return to Washington

John Wall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, made five All-Star teams as a member of the Wizards. But in 2019, he had surgery to remove a one-and-a-half bone spur on his heel. Then the incision developed an infection so severe that Wall nearly had to have his foot amputated. While he was recovering from that, Wall slipped in the shower and ruptured his Achilles tendon. As a result, Wall didn't play an NBA game from Dec. 26, 2018 until Dec. 31, 2020.

A month before his return, the Wizards traded Wall (and a first-round pick) to Houston for Russell Westbrook. He played one game in D.C. in Feb. 2021, when he scored 29 points in a duel with Wizards teammate Bradley Beal (he had 37), but there were no fans in the arena due to the pandemic. Before Saturday night, Wall's last game in front of the D.C. fans was nearly four full years ago - Dec. 16, 2018 -  a 40-point effort in a win over the Lakers.

But as the Wizards tribute video showed, it was more than basketball that linked Wall with D.C. It was his extensive charity work, his enthusiasm, and his "sincerity and love of the community."

Wall scored 13 points as his Clippers beat the Wizards, but as he said in the video, it was "bigger than basketball." After multiple injuries, his mother's death from cancer, a forced relocation to Houston, and the Rockets sending him home last season to force a contract buyout, Wall has had a difficult four years. In a piece for The Players Tribune, Wall discussed his suicidal thoughts and struggles with depression, and how therapy saved his life.

Tonight, John Wall wasn't defined by his trade value or his contract or his stat line. Tonight, John Wall was a returning hero, finally receiving the cheers and appreciation that the fans of Washington D.C. had waited four years to give him.