LeBron James Praises Wizards' Future After Anthony Davis, Trae Young NBA Trade Deadline Additions

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was impressed with the Washington Wizards' outlook after the team added Anthony Davis and Trae Young at the trade deadline.

"I'm interested to see what they do and how it all comes together," James said on his Mind the Game podcast. "With AD, obviously we know the talent level is out of this world. Trae, with his ability to play pick-and-roll game, his ability to shoot the ball, his lob threat. I love the young kid from France that they have on they team too, Sarr, we just played him two weeks ago. Great touch, great feel for the game. Love the kid George as well. Young kid, pretty good player. And then also the rookie kid that they got from Texas, Tre Johnson."

"They have some pieces and I think for the first time in a few years, we can say that Washington has some pieces," he added. "So it's going to be interesting to see what happens."

The Wizards acquired Young from the Hawks on Jan. 8 before adding Davis as part of an eight-player trade with the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 4.

James is extremely familiar with the impact that Davis can have on a team, as the pair won a championship and made four playoff appearances during their shared tenure on the Lakers from 2019-25.

While Young failed to exceed expectations to open the 2025-26 season with the Hawks, he's still earned three All-Star nods over the past four years and isn't far removed from a 2024-25 campaign in which he averaged a league-leading 11.6 assists per game.

Both Davis and Young are currently sidelined with injuries, which should lead to more opportunities for the Wizards' young core to close out the year.

Washington selected forward Alex Sarr with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft and he's flashed his two-way potential throughout his budding career.

This season, he's averaging 17.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game on 49.6/33.6/69.1 shooting splits. Sarr is blocking 2.0 shots on a nightly basis, ranking No. 2 among all players.

Kyshawn George was also drafted by the Wizards in 2025, showing promise as a rookie before excelling in a larger role this year.

George has averaged 15.1 points and a team-high 4.8 assists per game, shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three-point territory. His improved long-range accuracy is a particularly encouraging sign considering he only connected on 32.2 percent of his triples during his rookie year.

The Wizards used the No. 6 overall choice in the 2026 draft to select Tre Johnson out of Texas, and the decision already seems to be paying off.

Johnson has showcased his shooting prowess this season, averaging 12.9 points per game while hitting 38.6 percent of his threes. He also owns the best net rating among all Wizards players averaging at least 15 minutes per game (via NBA.com).

While Washington sits at just 14-39 and is on the verge of missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year, the team's long-term future could be bright.