Leadership is not just about leading from the front. At times, it is about stepping aside and allowing a potential successor to take the lead. Star players have the wisdom to understand when the time is right for them to step aside. Former Wizards’ player Gilbert Arenas definitely knew and respected this concept. 

Arenas played for the Washington Wizards for eight seasons and helped the team reach the EC semis in 2004-05. His win share remained the highest for three back-to-back years during this period, but his performance dramatically dropped in 2008 after an injury. The next thing he saw was the entry of a star rookie in John Wall.

When Wizards’ Gilbert Arenas showed true sportsman spirit

John Wall was the first overall pick in 2010. Conventionally, he would have been seen as ‘just another rookie’ by his team, but the Wizards were different. Specifically, veteran Gilbert had different plans for John. In an interview, the 38-year-old remembered the approach and said, “I’m an assassin. He’s a point guard with vision, give him the ball, he gonna find me.” He then added, “I already watched him in the summer, I already watched him in the college. His vision and what he was coming in with was for the rest of the group.”

The three-time NBA All-star simply gave away his position to make space for John. He detailed, “I gave that up, ‘hey bro, this is your team, here’s the keys, don’t worry about me.’ I let that be known, as soon as he came… ‘you’re the future. I’m just waiting around until they decide to move me. We’re not going to sit here and do this battle of young vs the old, nah. I’ve seen that in history, I know how that play out and it’s not in my favour.” 

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It was only natural for the interviewer to get stunned with this wisdom. When he asked for the reason, Gilbert responded, “He’s drafted for a reason. He’s the #1 pick, he’s the different player in the country. Injury got the black cloud on me, I can’t beat this. There’s no matter if I do outwork him and beat him in practice, that’s not the point. He’s the future. The future has to play. Period… So I’m not going to stand in the way.”

How well did John Wall do?

Both John Wall and Gilbert could play together for only a very small duration in 2010-11. The latter then moved to the Memphis Grizzlies and saw an early retirement. Meanwhile, John improved his playmaking to a great level. For three straight seasons from 2015 to 2017, he averaged assists in double figures, while also averaging a career-high 23.1 points in 2017.

Thanks to Marcin Gortat and John, the Wizards played three conference semis but unfortunately never made it to the finals. Their last season was especially bad with just 25 wins. Now, as John enters his 30s, he the same age as Gilbert was when he stepped down. It’s time that John pulls the Wizards up in the approaching season to once again make his mark and regain lost ground.

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