Trae Young is headed into 2026-27 with a point to make, and the Washington Wizards have built the kind of roster that could give him the stage to do it.
After a year that started with title hopes in Atlanta and ended with a trade to Washington, Young is now locked in on his first full season with the Wizards. The four-time All-Star agreed to a four-year, $212 million extension with the team, and he’s already talking like someone who feels overlooked.
On The Pivot podcast, Young said, “This is the most slept on I’ve been in my whole life. Even when I was in high school, I wasn’t this slept on,” Young said.
“I felt like I could have been top 5 in my class. I should have been top 10; number one point guard, I felt like.
But I was number four. So, was I slept on a little bit, maybe?
But for me, I’ve learned over the years there’s a lot of recency bias that goes on.”
Young’s frustration is tied to the last stretch of his career. His 2024-25 season with the Hawks was derailed by a right MCL sprain, and by January he was gone from Atlanta, where the team had already pivoted to Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels as its new franchise centerpieces instead of extending him. Now he’s with a Wizards team that has gone all-in around him.
That group got a major boost this summer when Washington drafted AJ Dybantsa with the first overall pick. The Wizards also brought in 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis at the deadline last season, giving Young a high-end partner and giving the roster a very different look. Young isn’t hiding what he thinks comes next.
“Imagine the Wizards as the number one team in the East next year. What people are going to be saying,” Young added.
“I can’t get caught up in what people are saying now. As mad as it makes me, what people say about me is not true.
Yes, I haven’t played much in a year and a half because of some injuries, the trade, and things like that. But trust me, I’m probably just entering my prime.
“The way people talk about me is just funny, and I just can’t wait to go out there and play. I know that’s what changes the narrative.
So, I can’t necessarily get caught up in what people think right now. I gotta go out there and do it again.”
This will be Young’s ninth NBA season, and he’s coming off a year in which he became the first player in Hawks history to lead the league in assists per game, averaging 11.6. He also led the NBA in total points and assists in 2021-22. For a Wizards team projected to chase a playoff spot for the first time since 2020-21, that kind of production is the engine of the whole operation.
The supporting cast has some real substance, too. Alex Starr is entering his third season in Washington after a strong 2024 second overall pick campaign in which he averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks.
With Davis beside him, the Wizards have a defensive backbone built around two bigs. Kyshawn George also took a big step forward in 2025-26, jumping from 8.7 points per game to 14.8 while shooting 43.8/38.1/80.2 percent and adding 4.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game.
Washington has kept adding pieces. The Wizards traded for Lakers center Deandre Ayton in exchange for Jaden Hardy and re-signed Khris Middleton to a three-year, $17.6 million extension. They may not be done yet, either.
The team previously offered Russell Westbrook a contract before he announced his retirement, and now it has reportedly shown interest in DeMar DeRozan. Marc Stein reported that “League sources tell The Stein Line that Washington made a two-year offer to bring Westbrook back to the nation’s capital.
Sources say Westbrook - not the team - is the party that ended those talks. The 37-year-old apparently balked at the specific terms of the offer and/or the role presented and has decided to stop playing instead,” Stein wrote.
“The Wizards, meanwhile, shifted their intent to sign another veteran this offseason by showing some interest in DeMar DeRozan, pursuing the former All-Star swingman along with teams such as Miami and Denver.”
Trae Young says you don’t change the narrative by arguing with it, you change it by performing
— Josh Chambers (@JoshChambers) August 14, 2026
“This is the most slept on I’ve been in my whole life. Even when I was in high school, I wasn’t this slept on.”
“I’ve learned over the years there’s a lot of recency bias. I know if… pic.twitter.com/QZR4Jg5uk5
That’s the kind of move that would only sharpen the picture in Washington. With Young, Davis, and a mix of young talent and veteran help, the Wizards have a path into the upper tier of the Eastern Conference if everything clicks. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins has already projected them as a top-5 seed, and Young is a big reason why.
The East is crowded, with teams like the defending-champion Knicks, 76ers, Celtics, Pistons, and Heat drawing plenty of attention. But Washington has built a roster that looks dangerous on paper, and Young is entering the season with a clear mission: turn the noise into something a lot louder.
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