Howard University is hiring former NBA star John Wall as its president of basketball operations, reports Shams Charania of ESPN.
While it has become increasingly common in recent years for active and former NBA players to take on ceremonial general manager or assistant GM positions with their respective alma maters, this doesn’t appear to be merely a figurehead role for Wall.
The former guard, who spent his lone college season at Kentucky, has talked in the past about his desire to work in an NBA front office and expressed interest in taking on this sort of position at Howard back in January after serving as the team’s honorary captain for a game, per Charania.
As Charania details, while his hiring hasn’t yet been formally announced by the school, Wall has already been “hands-on” in his new role, taking part in meetings and evaluating recruits and potential targets in the transfer portal. He’s working with general manager Daniel Marks and head coach Kenny Blakeney in shaping the program’s “overall strategic vision,” Charania adds.
The first overall pick in the 2010 draft, Wall spent 13 seasons in the NBA, though he missed two full years during that time — one due to an Achilles tear and one because he reached an agreement with the Rockets not to report to the team. The longtime Wizards star earned five consecutive All-Star nods during his time in D.C. and also made an All-NBA third team in 2017 and an All-Defensive second team in 2015.
Wall, who officially announced his retirement last August, has been working as an analyst for Amazon Prime Video during the 2025/26 season.