The Washington Wizards are heading into the 2026-27 season with a very different look, and the biggest reason for that shift is a pairing they never actually got to use last year.
After finishing with the worst overall record in the NBA, Washington still has plenty to sell as training camp gets closer. The No. 1 overall pick brought AJ Dybantsa into the mix, but the real headline is the star tandem of Anthony Davis and Trae Young.
Anthony Davis and Trae Young building that chemistry 🔥 (via @TheNBPA) pic.twitter.com/QtD9TPPHON
— Overtime (@overtime) August 10, 2026
The two were both brought in before last season’s trade deadline, yet injuries kept the Wizards from ever seeing them share the floor. Young managed to get on the court, while Davis never appeared in a game after the move.
Now, with camps less than a few months away, the work has already started. Davis and Young have been training together at the new PLYRS UNTD facility run by the NBPA in Los Angeles, a sign that the Wizards’ new duo is wasting no time trying to build chemistry.
Young’s season in Washington was brief. He played in five games for the Wizards, logging a little over 20 minutes per contest and putting up 15.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists.
He shot 59.5 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3 and 70.8 percent from the line. Between Atlanta and Washington, he appeared in only 15 games because of multiple injury concerns.
Davis’ numbers were stronger in volume before the trade. In 20 games with the Dallas Mavericks, he averaged 20.4 points, 11.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocked shots while playing a little over 31 minutes per game. He shot 50.6 percent from the field, 27 percent from deep and 72.8 percent at the free-throw line.
In Other News...
Anthony Davis Enters A Pivotal Season With Pressure On Early
Anthony Davis is heading into a season that already feels like a referendum on what comes next in Washington. The Wizards are counting on him to get healthy, settle in after a stretch of injuries and look like the top-end player they need if they are going to push back into playoff contention, especially with additions like Trae Young and AJ Dybantsa giving the roster more structure around him.
The timing matters because this is the last guaranteed year left on Daviss deal, which puts a real spotlight on how he opens the season and how quickly he can reestablish himself. Washington has built enough around him to make the picture intriguing, but Davis still has to be the player who tilts it, and the early months may go a long way toward determining how the rest of his future takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
AJ Dybantsa May Need A Different Path To Matter For Wizards
AJ Dybantsa arrives in Washington with a rsum that would normally make him the center of attention. The No. 1 pick in the most recent NBA Draft followed a strong run at BYU, where he led the Big 12 in scoring and collected Rookie of the Year honors, giving the Wizards plenty to like about his scoring polish and long-term upside.
The early read inside the organization, though, is that his best path to making an impact may not look anything like the one he took in college. Washington wants him to adjust to life as more of a secondary or tertiary offensive piece while also becoming a more disruptive defender, with full-court pressure part of the equation. For a player who has been used to carrying a heavy scoring load, that shift could end up being the biggest test of his rookie season. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Still Have One Roster Spot And One Trade Debate Left
With one roster spot still open, the Wizards are left weighing a familiar late-summer question: whether to stay patient or use what flexibility they have to chase a more useful piece. The discussion around possible targets has settled on a handful of names from around the league, with each option pointing to a different kind of need, from backcourt help to frontcourt depth, and each carrying the usual trade-off between upside and cost.
Among the possibilities, the conversation is less about a sure thing than about fit and timing, which is why the decision feels unfinished even as the list narrows. Washington can keep shopping the idea of a move, but the real intrigue is which direction it chooses when the market and the price tags stop lining up neatly. [Read more 🡒]