Trae Young is headed into a Washington stop that carries a little extra juice, and the Wizards will get their first crack at the Hawks with plenty of familiar names in the mix.
Washington has given fans enough to watch already in the early going. Anthony Davis is sitting at 23 points and nine rebounds a night, AJ Dybantsa has come out looking every bit like the top pick with 19 points per game through three appearances, and Kyshawn George has steadied himself after a shaky start by knocking down four 3-pointers in back-to-back outings. But the spotlight shifts toward Young with Atlanta coming to town, especially because this is a rare chance to see him in front of the D.C. crowd before Washington heads back out on a four-game road trip.
Young’s path to this moment has already been through a lot of noise. He was the face of Atlanta’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, but the seasons that followed never matched that peak. Atlanta eventually moved on from the 4x All-Star during an injury-hit 2025-26 campaign, and the split looked even starker when the Hawks went 28-15 after his departure to lock up the East’s sixth seed while Young spent all but five games late in the year "recovering" on Washington’s bench.
The Wizards, though, had a different idea in mind when they made the deal. They wanted Young in a reduced on-ball role, using him as a part-time playmaking mentor for a roster full of young guards and wings.
So far, that plan has started to take shape. Atlanta is sitting at 4-4, and Washington is beginning to look like a real problem behind the way Young has opened things up for everyone else while leading the league in assists again.
That setup makes this matchup more than just a reunion. The Hawks have built their offense around sharing the ball, and they’re leaning on Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker at the top of the scoring chart, with CJ McCollum right behind them as the third-leading scorer.
Washington knows McCollum well. He’s still the kind of veteran who can get to his spots and punish you if you let him, and his first-round scare against the New York Knicks was a reminder that he still has plenty left when the moment gets loud.
McCollum has already seen the Wizards twice since his midseason move to Atlanta as the centerpiece of the Young package, but he has not been back to Capital One Arena since his final game in a Wizards uniform. He should get a strong reception, and Corey Kispert figures to hear it too.
Kispert’s move to Atlanta hasn’t produced the same kind of revival. He’s playing just 8.5 minutes per game to start his sixth season, even though he’s currently leading the league in 3-point percentage at 61.5%.
His 7.5 points in almost as many minutes still haven’t been enough to fully win over the staff in his new home. Still, his career mark from deep sits above 38%, and the Wizards know the kind of shooting specialist he has been through everything from the later Bradley Beal years to the early rebuild.
He also just logged his first double-digit minute game in a win over the Pacers, which opens the door for a reunion-heavy night between the WizKids and a few old faces.
Washington’s win over Charlotte on Friday gave the team its third victory before December, and that matters more than it sounds. In recent rebuilds, this is usually where the wheels start coming off.
The Wizards had already been stuck in ugly losing streaks around this time of year in past seasons, but not this time. They have a shot at another milestone tonight, too: after needing until spring to stack three straight wins in those last two rough campaigns, they could get to three in a row just eight games into the fall.
The Hawks won’t make that easy. Their numbers still place them squarely in the league’s middle class, and they’ve got the kind of pieces that can bother Washington in a few different ways.
They can crash the offensive glass, pressure Young when he’s running pick-and-roll, and punish mistakes if they get rolling from outside. But the Wizards have also shown enough from Davis, Dybantsa and George to believe they can win this kind of game if their defensive burst from the Orlando showing shows up again.
If Washington controls the glass and keeps Atlanta from getting loose on open threes and in transition, another win is there for the taking. If not, the Hawks have enough to drag this back toward .500.
In Other News...
Wizards Title Hopes May Depend On Trae Young Making One Change
The Wizards long-term ceiling may come down to how Trae Young adapts alongside rookie AJ Dybantsa, and that starts with Young doing more damage away from the ball. Washington brought in a high-usage guard who has spent most of his career dictating every possession, but the fit the front office is chasing is different now, with Dybantsa emerging as a potential centerpiece and the team looking for a two-man game that can stress defenses in more than one way.
Dybantsa has already given the organization reason to believe the pairing can work, even in the early stages of his first NBA stretch. For Washington, the appeal is obvious: if Young can turn himself into a credible off-ball threat, it would open the floor for Dybantsas development and give the Wizards a cleaner path toward the kind of offensive balance that matters when the games get bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Defense Is Giving Fans A Real Reason To Believe
The early-season conversation around Washington has shifted in a hurry, and for once it starts on the defensive end. A group that was buried by opponents a year ago has become one of the leagues more disruptive units, with veteran additions helping steady the floor and young players such as Kyshawn George, Justin Champagnie and Bilal Coulibaly taking real steps forward. It is the kind of progress that changes how a team is viewed, especially for a roster still trying to build an identity.
There is also a more intriguing layer to it now, because the Wizards have found stretches where their defense looks even sharper when certain pieces are on the court together. Injuries and role changes have kept that combination from showing up as often as the team would like, but the underlying trend is hard to ignore. For a franchise that has spent so long searching for signs of traction, the defensive leap alone is enough to make the rest of the season worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Davis Is Forcing A Huge Wizards Decision Already
Anthony Davis has given the Wizards exactly what they hoped for when they brought him in, and maybe a little more. Through seven games, he has looked like the kind of difference-maker who can tilt a nightly game plan, pairing efficient scoring with steady rebounding and defensive activity while also stretching the floor at a career-best clip from three-point range.
For Washington, the on-court fit is only part of the equation now. Davis has quickly become central to the teams improved start, but the front office still has not locked in a long-term extension, leaving the Wizards with a decision that cannot wait forever. His looming player option adds another layer of pressure, and the longer this goes without clarity, the more every strong performance seems to sharpen the question of what comes next. [Read more 🡒]