John Wall Gives Tearful Speech at Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony

Washington Wizards guard John Wall held back tears as he thanked his mother at the Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony.

On a special night, the four-time NBA All-Star received his lifetime honor at his alma mater and opened up about the sacrifices his mother, Frances Pulley, made to ensure a respectable upbringing:

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I just wanted to say thank you for being my mom. I know it was tough growing up with me and my two sisters, seeing my dad go to jail at a young age, and you sacrificing everything. I seen you taking me to school and picking me up from school.

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The 27-year-old continued to talk about the role his mother played in helping jump-start his basketball journey in North Carolina:

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Then all of a sudden I started playing youth basketball and I met one of my close friends EJ, we would call him Grizzly, and she would miss a lot of tournaments, but she would sacrifice sometimes not paying the light bill so I could go play basketball.

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Wall became a freshman sensation at Kentucky during the 2009-10 season. He averaged 16.6 points, 6.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game to help lead the Wildcats to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

After being named the 2009-10 SEC Player of the Year, Wall went No. 1 in the 2010 NBA draft to the Wizards, where he's played seven seasons.

Many NBA stars come from humble beginnings. Wall put a snippet of his story on display Friday night with joy and extreme gratitude for his mother's guidance. It's another touching story many players around the league can identify with through their early trials and tribulations.