According to reports, Atalanta Hawks guard Trae Young – a four-time NBA All-Star – is leaving to join the Washington Wizards; Young is the Hawks’ career leader in assists and three-pointers; Watch the 2025-26 NBA season live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports or stream without a contract NOW
Last updated: 01/08/26 7:12
Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young, a four-time NBA All-Star, is leaving for the Washington Wizards, according to reports.
Trae Young’s career with the Atlanta Hawks is reportedly over, with the NBA team agreeing to trade the best and oft-criticized guard to the Washington Wizards for a package that includes veteran C.J. McCollum.
Corey Kispert is also going from Washington to Atlanta, The Associated Press understands. It’s understood the league’s trade call won’t take place before Thursday.
“I know you all have questions for me that I’m not at liberty to talk about or answer right now,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said at the start of his postgame press conference Wednesday night following Atlanta’s win over New Orleans.
NBA reporter Mark Stein was the first to reveal that the sides were closing in on a deal, and ESPN was the first to report that the deal was in place.
The Wizards kept McCollum and Kispert out of the loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday night, and Young was benched in Atlanta’s street clothes. He left the bench area in the fourth quarter, then returned and left again one last time with about 30 seconds left – slapping several fans in the hands as he headed for the locker room.
He leaves Atlanta as the Hawks’ career leader in assists (passing Doc Rivers) and three-pointers (passing Mookie Blaylock). He is fourth in Atlanta’s free throw shooting list and sixth in points.
Young leaves Atlanta as the career leader in assists and three-pointers
Hawks power forward Mohamed Gueye said he was unaware during Wednesday’s game that news of the trade had become public. He later had nothing but high praise for his time with Young.
“That’s YOU. That’s Trae Young,” Gueie said. “When I first got here, he was one of the first guys to text me, welcome me to town, give me a lot of advice. Obviously playing with Trea, as a big man, is a dream come true. I love him as a guy, I love him as a teammate… Atlanta legend.”
Young is 10th in points, 12th per game, first in assists and first in assists per game since entering the NBA as the No. 5 pick in the 2018 draft.
He is one of five players to finish in the top 10 in points and assists since entering the league; the others are Nikola Jokic of Denver, Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, James Harden of the Los Angeles Clippers and Devin Booker of Phoenix.
Jokić won the championship and is MVP three times. Doncic is considered an MVP candidate, Harden is a member of the 75th anniversary team, and Booker is a two-time Olympic gold medalist.
Young doesn’t get the level of respect those players deserve. He’s a four-time All-Star – two of those accolades came during the voting and two came when commissioner Adam Silver added him to the roster as an injury replacement.
But the Hawks have been better without Young this season anyway. Atlanta went 2-8 this season when Young played; The Hawks are 16-13 without him. During his career, the Hawks won 49 percent of their games when Young was not in the lineup — as opposed to 45 percent when he was.
Young faced criticism, and the Hawks won more without him than with him
He has a player option for about $49 million next season and is eligible for a three-year extension with the Wizards.
McCollum averaged 18.8 points in 35 games with Washington this season and is averaging 19.6 points for his career. The Hawks will become his fourth team; he also played for Portland and New Orleans.
Kispert was a backup for most of his five NBA seasons, all with Washington. He averaged 10.9 points for his career while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range.
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