John Wall: 'I Feel Like I'm a Top 5 Point Guard in This League'

Washington Wizards point guard John Wall entered the ranks of the super rich this summer, but he has his sights set on an even more exclusive group.

Washington's $80 million man told ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman that while he understands why fans overlook him in their debates of the NBA's top-10 point guards, he doesn't agree with that assessment of his skill.

"I like it and use stuff like that as motivation," Wall said. "I feel like I'm a top-5 point guard in the league, but I've got to go out there and prove it."

At least he recognizes the need for growth, because it absolutely exists.

More of a scoring guard than a traditional floor general, Wall doesn't yet have the scoring chops to rest his claim solely on his point production. His 18.5 points per game in 2012-13 would have left him tied for 15th had he played enough games to qualify, but his 44.1 field-goal percentage ranked outside the top 75 of qualified shooters.

His passing skills have even more room for improvement. Despite setting career bests in assist percentage (43.9) and turnover percentage (15.3) last season, his 2.38 assists per turnover ranked 33rd.

He might have the athleticism of a top-five point man, but he's still figuring out how to make the best use of it.

He told Goodman he's looking to round out his offensive attack by adding a three-point shot that, so far, has been missing from his offensive arsenal (24.3 percent for his career).

"I never had to shoot, but now I'm more confident," Wall said. "I can miss seven or eight shots now and I don't get discouraged."

Maybe it's just me, but I never thought discouragement was Wall's biggest shooting problem. I mean, keeping his head in the game is important and all, but not as much as eliminating those seven or eight straight misses.

It's just another part of the process for Wall to climb up the point guard ranks and force his way into that top five. Because from my viewpoint, he still has a long ways to go.