Trae Young quickly made Washington his home
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Trae Young has been a leader for the Wizards. Photo: Kenny Giarla/NBAE via Getty Images
It's homecoming weekend for point guard Trae Young, whose Wizards will visit Atlanta on Friday and Oklahoma City on Saturday.
Why it matters: After years of losing, the Wizards (4-4) are betting $213 million on Young to help turn things around.
The big picture: Young's basketball résumé is built on creating opportunities for others. He leads the NBA in assists (9.5 per game), helping his young teammates score without having to force shots.
- But the four-time All-Star is bringing more than playmaking to Washington.
- Since arriving via trade in January, Young has embraced his new home and taken a leadership role on a young roster.
In the offseason: He organized workouts in Los Angeles and helped rally teammates to attend Summer League in Las Vegas.
In the locker room: Young was among the veterans who challenged the team's defensive effort at halftime during a recent game in Orlando, according to The Athletic. The Wizards responded with a stronger second half.
On the sidelines: He's repped D.C. in jerseys from Georgetown's Allen Iverson to Capitals' Alex Ovechkin and Wizards' John Wall.
In the community: His foundation donated $50,000 apiece to DC Central Kitchen and the DC College Access Program in April.
- He won the NBA's community assist award for his offseason work supporting education, food access and youth sports programs in D.C. and Oklahoma.
Driving the news: Young returns to two cities that helped shape him this weekend: Atlanta, where he became an NBA star, and Oklahoma City, where he learned an early lesson about giving back.
Flashback: Young was 14 and attending high school in Oklahoma when devastating tornadoes struck the state in 2013. He remembers Kevin Durant, then the face of the Oklahoma City Thunder, donating $1 million to the American Red Cross for disaster relief.
- The Thunder were fixtures in the community, and Young took notice.
- "You feel like whenever you had that opportunity, you'd do the same thing," Young told Axios.
What they're saying: "Since the moment that Trae arrived, he really established himself as the person and player we've known him to be," Wizards GM Will Dawkins said when the team announced Young's contract extension.
- "On and off the [court], he's always been a connector."