Wall: Healthy Wizards would have downed Hawks in 2015

Without five non-displaced fractures in his left hand and wrist, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall knows his team would have defeated the Atlanta Hawks in the 2015 playoffs. Instead, the Hawks held on, winning in six games to advance to their first Eastern Conference finals in 45 years.

"Oh, if we were healthy we would've won that series in five games. And they knew that. They knew that," Wall told Sports Illustrated's Andrew Sharp.

Though Wall's hand was more or less the size of an actual basketball from the injury he'd sustained 10 days earlier, he said then-teammate and 10-time All-Star Paul Pierce helped motivate him to be on the court.

"You gotta think, when I first came here we were the laughingstock. They used to call us the Washington Generals. You would've never thought a Hall of Famer like that would want to come play with us," Wall said. "So to have a guy like that meant a whole lot, and I felt like we had an opportunity to do something special. Go to the Eastern Conference finals, and give ourselves a shot. My ultimate goal was to get back and play for him. I mean, we were basically one rebound away."

Pierce left Washington for the Los Angeles Clippers after the 2015 season, but Wall is content to stick with the city that's supported him over the first six years of his pro career.

"You never know what can happen, but I love being here, I enjoy playing here. My dad was from here and it's a short drive to North Carolina if I ever want to see my family or they want to come see me," he said. "Like I said, my ultimate goal is to hang up another banner in this arena."

Wall is averaging 17 points per game and 11.5 assists per game to start the 2016-17 season.