In March 2011, I went to the Verizon Center to watch the Washington Wizards take on the Los Angeles Clippers. I attended that particular game because I wanted to watch the players I thought were the two best rookies in the NBA, Blake Griffin and John Wall, square off against one another. When I left the arena later that evening a part me knew, even though I spent the next several months denying it, that only one of those rookies, Griffin, possessed true superstar potential.

During that particular game, Wall was matched up with his former college teammate Eric Bledsoe  for significant stretches during the game, and much to my chagrin and the chagrin of the maybe 15,000 fans in attendance, Bledsoe thoroughly outplayed him.

For those unfamiliar with those two players' history, University of Kentucky coach John Calipari initially recruited Bledsoe to be the starting point guard on his 2009-10 roster. But later during that recruiting period, Wall, who was a more highly touted player coming out of high school, opted to attend Kentucky, relegating Bledsoe to the role of second banana in the Wildcats starting backcourt.

Bledsoe notched 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting in only 22 minutes—had he played more, Bledsoe easily would have surpassed 30 points—while Wall managed 25 points while only making 9-of-23 shots, an all-too-typical shooting performance for him.

But that stat line doesn't illustrate what everyone who watched that game saw. Every time Bledsoe got the ball, he drove right at Wall without hesitation, and most of the time either scored or set up a teammate—Bledsoe also finished with six assists. The former understudy showed no fear in attacking the No. 1 overall pick, and Wall couldn’t do anything to stop him.

What made Wall's shortcomings even more apparent that night was that when Bledsoe wasn't in the game, Wall was matched up with Mo Williams, who also recorded an incredibly efficient offensive performance. The two Clippers guards to whom Wall was assigned scored 45 points on 57 percent shooting. Wall looked thoroughly outclassed throughout the game, leaving fans wondering why the No. 1 pick had to work so hard to get his points while his opponents got theirs while barely breaking a sweat.

Wall bashing, as well as Wizards bashing in general, is quite in vogue at the moment. Journalists writing for locally focused sports sections and national publications alike have criticized the second-year point guard in recent weeks. The criticism has primarily focused on Wall's atrocious shooting percentage and penchant for turning the ball over, two factors that are part of the reason why he ranks 178th in the league in terms of player efficiency rating (PER).

But most of the critical columns also contain the caveat that Wall has the bad fortune of playing with horrible teammates—in other words, if he played for a different team his numbers would be better.

I've never agreed with that caveat because of what I saw on that night in March 2011 and what continues to be apparent on a game-by-game basis: Wall often gets horribly outplayed by the opposing team's point guard, and his teammates have nothing to do with this.

Case in point: Last night Wall was dominated by Chicago's backup point guard John Lucas. Lucas put on a clinic—25 points, eight assists, eight rebounds—while Wall struggled. If you're like me, prior to last night you thought John Lucas hadn't seen NBA action since 1990, but that was before this rarely used Bulls guard embarrassed the player Washington's management has been touting as the franchise's future.

The game of basketball is more than just the sum of its parts, but on some level, the following statement applies to each of the 10 players that inhabit the court at any given time: Outplay the person you are matched up against, and you will give your team a better chance at winning. 

The biggest problem with Wall is that he almost never outplays the person he is matched up with. Here’s a brief list of the opposing players that have outplayed Wall this season: Ricky Rubio, John Lucas, Luke Ridnour, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo and Brandon Jennings. Opposing starting point guards are averaging 13.3 points per game and 7.3 assists per game compared to Wall’s 13.4 PPG and 7.1 APG. 

That stat is even more telling when you consider it 1) doesn’t factor in Rubio’s performance since Rubio did not start against the Wizards, and 2) does factor in Toney Douglas’ zero-point, zero-assist performance that occurred when the Wizards played the New York Knicks.

Wall often gets outplayed by the opposition because at this stage in his career he is not only a terrible offensive player—his speed in the open court cannot make up for the fact that he lacks the ball-handling skills of an elite point guard and is a terrible shooter from both the perimeter and around the paint—he is also a terrible defensive player. As a result, he labors to score, making each basket come across as a Herculean triumph, while opposing guards score easily against him.

Defense in the NBA is about so much more than steals and blocked shots, just like defense in the NFL is about more than interceptions and forced fumbles. (Darrelle Revis did not finish in the top 10 in interceptions, but most football coaches and analysts would still rank him as the game’s top cornerback.)

Good NBA defenders prevent opposing players from making plays; they disrupt the opposition through a combination of good positioning, athletic ability and sheer will. In theory, Wall should be a great NBA defender—he is fast, tall for his position and has long arms—but for a reason that is difficult to articulate, Wall is actually terrible on defense.

Part of Wall’s defensive shortcomings come from the fact that he doesn’t seem to have great balance. Wall looks great when he’s racing through the open court, but when he’s standing still on the court he comes across as a bit gangly, somewhat uncomfortable in his own frame. When bodying up to opposing players, Wall is easily knocked back on heels, and his inability to hold his balance allows players to drive right at him without any fear.

At this point in his career, it may be a bit too early to definitively label Wall as a bust in the making but with each game it looks less likely that Wall will be able to one day turn into an NBA superstar. It’s even doubtful that he will reach the level of play former Washington guard Gilbert Arenas did during his good days in a Wizard uniform.

Think about it: Name one top-20 NBA player who consistently gets outplayed by his counterpart on the opposing team. It can’t be done because such a player doesn't exist.

Wall's immense personal charisma—he had his own personal dance before he scored his first points as a college player and also does a fantastic version of the Dougie—caused the media spotlight to always shine a bit brighter on Wall than his play alone merited. When he was in college, many writers (myself included) overrated Wall’s ceiling for NBA potential—Bill Simmons called him a can’t-miss prospect on par with Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant.  

Many writers, analysts and fans (myself included) continued to fawn over Wall during his rookie year and overlooked his obvious flaws as a player, which can be boiled down to the following statement: While Wall possesses more than his fair share of athletic ability, he is not a skilled offensive or defensive basketball player and to be a great NBA player you need to possess a certain degree of skill in addition to raw talent.

Wall's future depends on his ability to quickly learn the skills—shooting, dribbling, passing—that he failed to learn during his first 21 years on earth. I don't see that happening. If the Wizards want to one day bring an NBA Championship to Washington, they will need another superstar to helm the ship.