The Washington Wizards are seemingly on track to unveil one of their recent prized acquisitions.
In an Instagram post shared Monday, March 2, point guard Trae Young, whom the team acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks, hinted that he would make his Wizards debut Thursday, March 5 against the Utah Jazz. To that end, a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to USA TODAY Sports Monday that Young is trending in that direction and is expected to play that night.
The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.
The Instagram post includes a reel of Young going through drills in Wizards gear and includes B-roll footage of Washington D.C. The caption of the post simply reads: “March 5th.’
Young ejected before playing a game for Washington
Three days ahead of his likely debut with Washington, Young was courtside inside Capital One Arena with his teammates as the Wizards hosted the Houston Rockets. And he found a way to get in on the action before playing even a minute with his new team.
Young was ejected in the third quarter after running on the court during a dustup between the two teams that saw multiple technical fouls and the Rockets’ Tari Eason ejected after his defensive foul was reviewed as a flagrant.
Young, like his teammates, was upset about Eason’s conduct on the prior possession. He left the arena to loud cheers from the fans and later posted about the ejection on social media:
‘Don’t expect me to get ejected too many more times D.C. .. but I’m definitely bringing that energy & competitiveness when I’m back for my brothers!’
Wizards reeling from injuries, looking at lottery
Young’s expected first game with Washington comes as the Wizards remain well outside of the play-in picture, at 16-43 and 13th in the Eastern Conference. Washington has lost five consecutive games and 8 of its last 10 – including a 123-118 loss to the Rockets Monday night – while dealing with several key injuries.
Young has been sidelined since late December with knee and quadriceps injuries and has played in only 10 games this season. The Wizards acquired Young in exchange for guards CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
Young, 27, is a four-time All-Star who is averaging 19.3 points, 8.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game this season. Though he remains one of the top distributors in the NBA — Young led the NBA in assists last season with 11.6 per game — his defense has been a significant issue.
Aside from Young, center Anthony Davis, who was acquired in a separate trade with the Dallas Mavericks, has also been out with a left hand ligament injury and still has not suited up for Washington; Davis is reportedly set to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season. The Wizards have also been without center Alex Sarr (right hamstring strain) and forward Cam Whitmore (deep vein thrombosis).
Washington is navigating a delicate balance for its first-round draft pick. The selection is Top-8 protected, which means that it will convey to the New York Knicks, if it falls to No. 9 or below. This means that any victories over the final quarter of the season could compromise Washington’s draft positioning; the Wizards currently have the NBA’s fourth-lowest winning percentage (.271).
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