John Wall will enter this All-Star Weekend with a huge bag of chips on his shoulder; the former number-1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft was selected twelfth in a field of twenty for the newly-formatted Rising Stars Challenge in a process wear the team’s coaches, Shaq and Charles Barkley, picked their players in a playground-style draft. Jeremy Lin, a late addition to the pool and unofficial ‘rival’ since their highly-publicized Summer League showdown, was selected third overall behind Blake Griffin and Kyrie Irving. Of course, being the twelfth pick isn’t a true expression of Wall’s value; Barkley had already selected a point guard (Irving) and filled out his start five before selecting his purported back-ups, but it still stings a bit to fall so quickly in the ranks. In any case, you can see the Washington Wizards star during the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge as well as the Taco Bell Skills Competition wearing this PE of the Reebok Zig Encore, so keep an eye out for his this weekend because Wall’s ready to shine the the spotlight!
Add’l image via blocknation