The Hawks' Demise Tells Wizards Fans the Full Trae Young Story

The Washington Wizards have plenty to take away from the Atlanta Hawks' rise and fall since they traded their franchise star and crashed the playoff picture.

Mar 5, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Trae Young (3) sits on the bench during warmups prior to his first start as a Wizard against the Utah Jazz at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Hawks were among the biggest winners of the second half of this past NBA regular season, a band of usual-middlers who caught fire just long enough to clear the Play-In Tournament bracket and punch a playoff ticket the old-fashioned way.

As fun as the ride was, their embarrassing elimination ceremony will be just as much of a part of this team's legacy as the rollercoaster ride that preceded the ending. Down by as much as 61 points in their Game 6 matchup at home against the New York Knicks, they eventually succumbed to a 140-89 throttling, one couldn't help but remind viewers about the iconic former Hawk who was missing in this franchise-altering moment.

Apr 30, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) celebrates after a victory over the Atlanta Hawks during game six of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Trae Young hasn't suited up for the organization that just about everyone associates him with since December, and he won't again any time soon. He was traded to the Washington Wizards after failing to uplift his re-tooling team to new heights after seven full campaigns in Atlanta, but just like how the Hawks took off without his inflexible play-style, his fingerprints were left all over their lopsided dismissal.

As if Wizards fans still didn't know what they were signing up for, here are some of the bigger takeaways from the Young-less Hawks' recent series and season in full.

The Luxury - and Cost - of Playing Freely

Young, one of the most comfortable table-setters in the modern game, has done plenty to convince a variety of coaches that he's capable of dictating an offense every trip down the court. Despite his up-and-down success from 3-point land and small stature, he's still averaging 9.78 assists per game, good for third all-time.

But with that expert-level lob-throwing and kickout-passing package comes a harsh price. A career-usage rate of 31.8% is too much for most to stomach, especially as Atlanta slowly worked to surround Young with more playmakers and self-made scorers to spread out their offensive diversity.

Predictable, one-dimensional and boring were one thing, but others were deserving of touches, too.

Feb 9, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) and guard Trae Young (11) against the Philadelphia 76ers during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Jalen Johnson blossomed into an All-Star without Young's relentless grip on the Wilson. Nickeil Alexander-Walker won the Most Improved Player award thanks to how easily he slid into a perimeter-oriented backcourt role with defensive versatility that Young's never come close to matching. And CJ McCollum, the lead backcourt scorer whom the Hawks acquired from the Wizards in exchange for the point guard, had no problem taking over as the face of the postseason-bound operation.

They squared off against the Knicks in last month's first round, an identical showdown to the start of the Hawks' famous run through the 2021 playoffs. The Hawks had gotten the better of their underdeveloped opponents back then, a five-game sequence that enabled Young to broadcast his closing prowess to the rest of the league while making himself the enemy to every New Yorker, and McCollum did a serviceable impression of the man he replaced over the first three games of this duel.

Cool. Calm. Collected.

CJ MCCOLLUM COMES THROUGH FOR ATLANTA.

HAWKS TAKE A 2-1 SERIES LEAD.

Game 4: Saturday, 6:00pm/et, NBC and Peacock https://t.co/3nf9ZtkW3v pic.twitter.com/apsoSY7W8v

— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2026

After a week of drawing the ire of displeased fans, though, the Knicks eventually snapped back into the third-seeded team who most outsiders picked to win the series. None of those supplementary scorers held up as meaningful creators over three consecutive defeats, either wilting in the face of New York's defenders or throwing up turnovers against double teams.

McCollum, for all of his highlights, averaged two assists to 3.5 turnovers over the six-game battle.

That need for an initiator, someone who could get up a decent shot against any kind of coverage, is where Wizards fans can resume their excitement for the Young era. He only suited up five times alongside his new Washington teammates before making his return to the Wizards' IR, but that gave him plenty of time to unlock the team's bevy of rim-running role-players and dependent spot-up shooters.

For as much as he can limit ceilings due to his overwhelming desire to control the ball and tempo of a game, the Wizards lack that specific Hawks problem. Few, if any, of Washington's prospects are league-ready scorers, especially given their combined tally of zero big NBA games on any of their short resumes, and Young is perfectly happy to continue setting others up while contributing necessary floor-spacing and rim-challenging.

Dec 1, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) celebrates with Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) after scoring while being fouled by Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (not pictured) in the final seconds of the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

For all of the warts attached to Young's game, his move to D.C. was best for everyone. Atlanta was clearly happy to try something new, and to their credit, the change in energy did appear to turn their once-unimpressive-looking season around. And just like how he's already appreciating his fresh start, the Wizards have a lot to take away from an effortless creator who'll propel the young corps to new heights.

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