Trae Young ‘ecstatic’ about NBA move from the Atlanta Hawks to Washington Wizards
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Trae Young of the Washington Wizards is introduced to fans during the first half of their 128-107 defeat by the New Orleans Pelicans at Capital One Arena on Jan 9, 2026 in Washington, DC.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
WASHINGTON – Four-time National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star guard Trae Young said on social media on Jan 9 that he was “ecstatic” over being traded to the Washington Wizards after eight seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.
“I’m walking into this next chapter ecstatic, with my head high and my eyes forward,” he wrote. “It’s time to see what’s possible when the support is real and the vision is clear. We move.”
Young averaged 25.3 points, 9.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals a game in his previous seven seasons with the Hawks, but has missed most of this season with a right knee sprain and right quadriceps bruise.
The Hawks missed the play-offs four times since Young was taken fifth overall in the 2018 NBA draft and fell in the first round in two other seasons.
Atlanta’s best run with Young came in 2020-21, when they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals
“The last few years weren’t how I wanted them to be,” he wrote. “Bringing a championship to Atlanta was always my goal.
“However, between the injuries, the setbacks and situations that didn’t make sense, we never truly got to see our full potential.
“The city that raised me and taught me so much will always be a chapter in this story.
“However, the pain of staying the same eventually outweighed the uncertainty of change.
“Change is often met with fear but I see it as another opportunity.”
He is the franchise’s all-time leader in assists (4,837) and three-pointers (1,295).
The 27-year-old’s career average of 9.8 assists per game is the third highest in NBA history, behind only Hall of Famers Earvin “Magic” Johnson and John Stockton.
Young departs the Hawks, 19-21 and ninth in the Eastern Conference, after 493 games, all as a starter, for a Wizards squad that ranks 10-27, next-to-last in the East.
The Wizards confirmed details of the swop on Jan 9, which sends swingman Corey Kispert and guard C.J. McCollum to Atlanta.
“It’s a rare opportunity to acquire a player of Trae’s skill, accomplishments and age,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said.
“Trae plays an exciting brand of basketball and brings a level of confidence and competitiveness that has set him apart in this league.”
Young averaged more than 25 points and 10 assists in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, a back-to-back NBA feat also managed by only Nikola Jokic, Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson.
In the 2021-22 season, Young led the NBA in points and assists, joining Nate Archibald in 1972-73 as the only players to achieve such a double.
In the first game since trading Young, Jalen Johnson scored 29 points, Dyson Daniels finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists as the visiting Hawks outscored Denver 36-12 in the fourth quarter to beat the Nuggets 110-87 on Jan 9.
Meanwhile, the magnitude of the task at hand for Young in Washington was also laid bare on Jan 9.
Trey Murphy III scored 15 of his game-high 35 points in the third quarter and Zion Williamson dominated at times in both halves in finishing with 31 points, as the New Orleans Pelicans decisively ended their nine-game losing streak with a 128-107 win over the Wizards in Washington.
New Orleans are second from bottom in the West and have the third-worst record in the NBA.
Also struggling are the 16-22 Memphis Grizzlies.
NBA champions the Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 21-point third-quarter deficit to edge out Memphis 117-116 on Jan 9, despite missing NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and key centre Chet Holmgren, the second pick in the 2022 draft.
Memphis are entertaining trade offers involving two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant, ESPN reported on Jan 9.
Per the network, multiple teams have inquired about Morant ahead of the Feb 5 NBA trade deadline, with the Grizzlies prioritising draft picks and young players in return.
Morant served a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team in November.
He was handed two bans for incidents involving guns earlier in his career.
He has averaged 22.4 points and 7.4 assists in 325 career games (323 starts) since being selected by Memphis with the second overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft.
Meanwhile, Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant swished a three-pointer with 7:57 left in the third quarter to move into seventh place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Durant’s trey allowed him to pass legend Wilt Chamberlain (31,419) during the Rockets’ 111-105 road loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The trey gave him 17 points on the night and lifted Durant’s career point total to 31,422. He finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and four assists and has 31,435 career points. AFP, REUTERS
