Trae Young puts the NBA on notice with a bold remark about the Wizards

Trae Young might have just served a warning for the rest of the NBA.

After a rocky 2025-26 season, the Washington Wizards point guard is looking forward to a restart. He believes his best days are still ahead of him and thinks his new team can contend right away in the Eastern Conference in his first full season with them. 

The former Oklahoma Sooners star acknowledges that the Wizards are not considered a serious contender, and that appears to be driving him.

“This is the most slept on I’ve been in my whole life,” Young said during a recent appearance on The Pivot Podcast. “Even when I was in high school, I wasn’t this slept on.”

The four-time NBA All-Star is already envisioning the Wizards becoming the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, a feat Washington has yet to achieve.

“Imagine the Wizards as the No. 1 team in the East next year. What are people gonna be saying? I haven’t played much in a year and a half, but trust me, I’m just entering my prime. The way people talk about me is just funny,” added the 27-year-old Young.

Coming off the worst season of his NBA career, thus far, Young is determined to rise up again, together with the Wizards, who have not won more than 18 games in any of the last three seasons. 

If Young leads the Wizards to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference next season after the team won only 17 games in the previous campaign, he might deserve a statue outside their arena.