Trae Young Hypes AJ Dybantsa, Talks Anthony Davis' Wizards Future Amid Warriors Trade Rumors

Four-time All-Star Trae Young is setting lofty expectations for his team ahead of his first full season on the Washington Wizards.

Young told ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk the Wizards "can be super special."

"We can achieve whatever we want to, especially if we have everybody healthy," he said. "We can do so many things, man. … I just can't wait to play."

AJ Dybantsa is a significant part of Washington's plans in the short and long terms. The No. 1 overall pick flashed some of his promise in the NBA Summer League, scoring 50 points and collecting 14 rebounds in his two appearances.

Dybantsa SL Debut

01:13

Naturally, Young is encouraged by what he saw from the young forward.

"He's nice. He's going to be great," Young said. "He's already good now. But people don't understand, I see certain things that he can even be better at. And [that's with him being] already the No. 1 pick. He made [scoring 27] look easy."

For the Wizards as a whole, it looked like their grand plans might hit a snag when the Golden State Warriors set their sights on Anthony Davis. The pursuit didn't get any further, though, and it's telling that Davis was on hand to watch Dybantsa in the Summer League.

Young told Youngmisuk he has chatted with Davis about what they can achieve together in Washington, and he's confident about the big man's mindset.

"I ain't on it too much," Young said. "I think he knows where he wants to be right now."

The Wizards went 17-65 in 2025-26, but it's not totally unprecedented for a team to go from that to contending for the playoffs in one season. The Detroit Pistons improved their record by 30 wins in 2024-25 and secured the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

That's obviously not the norm, though.

Washington is also pinning a lot of its hopes to one star (Davis) with a long injury record and another (Dybantsa) who has yet to play in a meaningful NBA game.

You can't blame Young for being hopeful about what's ahead, but the Wizards' blueprint also has the potential to be a bust.