It was announced today by the National Basketball Association that Wizards rookie point guard John Wall has been selected to play in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge on Friday, February 18th at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles as part of the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend.
Wall, who was named Eastern Conference T-Mobile Rookie of the Month for the month of January, will be the eighth Washington player to represent the franchise in the Rookie Challenge since the inception of the game in 1994. Previously, Calbert Cheaney (’94), Juwan Howard (’95), Anthony Tucker (’95), Rasheed Wallace (’96), Richard Hamilton (’01), Brendan Haywood (’02) and Jarvis Hayes (’04) played in the exhibition for Washington.
Wall currently ranks fifth in the entire NBA in assists per game (9.3) and leads all rookie performers in that category. Wall also paces the rookie class in steals per game (1.74), and tops all members of the 2010 draft class in points per game (15.0) and double-doubles (17). Wall is also the only rookie to record a triple-double this season, as he joined Magic Johnson as the only rookies in NBA history with a triple-double and six-plus steals in the same game within their first six career games. The Kentucky product also recently became the first rookie in NBA history to have nine or more assists in 10 straight games.
Wall will be joined on the Rookie squad by Clippers forward Blake Griffin, Clippers guard Eric Bledsoe, Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, New Jersey Nets forward Derrick Favors, New York Knicks guard Landry Fields, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Wesley Johnson, Detroit Pistons center Greg Monroe, and San Antonio Spurs guard Gary Neal, and will oppose the NBA’s Sophomore class of Sacramento Kings guard Tyreke Evans, San Antonio Spurs center DeJuan Blair, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan, Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson, Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday, Oklahoma City Thunder forward/center Serge Ibaka, Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings, and Portland Trail Blazers guard Wesley Matthews.
Fans can also vote Wall into the Taco Bell Skills Challenge as part of the “Choose Your Squad” program. Through 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 14, fans can log on to NBA.com/chooseyoursquad to choose Wall from a group of eight players to determine the final participants in the 2011 event on All-Star Saturday Night. Each of the possible participants will be featured at NBA.com/chooseyoursquad, where fans can see highlights of all players eligible in the fan vote.