John Wall remembers the hype of the Raleigh days

• But Pistol Pete never had to deal with thousands of cameras and phones aimed at him every time he stepped in a gym. Wall, on the other hand, was at the forefront of the social media age.

Driving the news: Wall, 34, retired from the NBA this past week, after a career that saw him make the NBA All-Star team five times.

• He sat down with Axios on Zoom to reminisce about a career that stretched from Raleigh to Kentucky and then D.C. to Los Angeles.

What they're saying: "It was never pressure; it was fun. I was a kid just enjoying it, not really knowing what was going on," Wall said of the hype that surrounded him during his high school days.

• "Then all of the sudden, you have some of the best coaches in the world watching me play, coming to my practice. That's kind of when I knew it got serious."

Zoom in: Wall had to grow up fast in those days. "I just wanted to have fun and be a kid," but any mistakes or choices he was making as a 16-year-old were under a microscope.

• He says he couldn't have navigated it without his mom, Frances Pulley, who worked multiple jobs and raised him as a single mother for most of his early years in Raleigh.
• "The way she raised me was to be true to who you are," he said. "You can be a great basketball player, but a motto I always stand by, was be known as a better person."

But the pressure of those early days, allowed Wall to flourish in the long run, he said.

• Even as the stage got bigger and bigger, from Word of God Academy in Raleigh to the University of Kentucky and then the Washington Wizards, he kept continuing to elevate his play.
• One point of intense pressure on Wall in those high school days was his college selection, especially about whether he would play at one of the Triangle schools.

• "I would have loved to go to a school in North Carolina and be close to my family, but I think being so close to home wouldn't have been perfect for me, because I am a mama's boy," he said. "I probably would have been going home every day after class. [Kentucky] made me grow up a lot faster than I probably wanted to, to figure things out on my own and prepared me how to be a professional a little bit earlier."

State of play: Wall has been spending much of his non-basketball life down in Miami, a favorite gathering spot of the professional basketball world.

• But he still tries to get back to Raleigh a few times a year, whether it is just to see family members still in the area, his annual backpack giveaway for kids in the city or the annual holiday tournament that bears his name.
• But he admits it can be hard to come back ever since his mom passed in 2019 from breast cancer.
• "I kind of really try to not be in North Carolina too much. It brings back so many memories," Wall said. "But I still always want to try to get the opportunity to be around my family and friends."