ATLANTA — Trae Young knew that he would struggle to contain his emotions if, as expected, the Atlanta Hawks played a tribute video Tuesday night during his first time back at State Farm Arena since his trade to the Washington Wizards.
Young was right.
A one-minute, 25-second tribute video during the first intermission of the second quarter, along with a standing ovation from the overwhelming majority of fans inside the arena, prompted tears to well up in his eyes.
Wearing a gray hoodie, blue jeans and white sneakers, Young received a hug from the Hawks’ mascot, Harry the Hawk, and flashed the heart sign to the fans.
“It was definitely emotional,” Young said after the Hawks throttled the Wizards 119-98. “I was definitely just ready to see what it was like. Yeah, I was definitely holding back tears.”
Washington’s Trae Young receives a warm welcome in his return to Atlanta ❤️ pic.twitter.com/PqfWerBHCf
— NBA (@NBA) February 25, 2026
Some of those cheering fans wore Young’s No. 11 Hawks jersey. A few wore Young’s brand-new No. 3 Wizards jersey.
His new teammates clapped, too.
The Hawks and Wizards agreed to the trade on Jan. 7, with the Wizards sending guards Corey Kispert and CJ McCollum to Atlanta in the deal. The trade became official on Jan. 9.
Before tipoff Tuesday, Young told reporters that, ever since the trade, he had been wondering how he would feel when he returned to State Farm Arena for the first time.
“It’s been crazy, it’s been different,” Young said when asked what it was like to return. “From everything, I’ve just been, to be honest, trying to soak everything in since I’ve been back, just the new experiences and things like that that, obviously, I’m not used to. It’s super unique and something that I’ve been thinking about these past few weeks.”
Young spent 7 1/2 seasons with the Hawks. He is the franchise leader in career assists (4,837) and 3-pointers made (1,295), and he ranks sixth in career points (12,413), trailing Dominique Wilkins, Bob Pettit, Lou Hudson, Cliff Hagan and John Drew.
Young made four Eastern Conference All-Star teams during his Hawks tenure, and he led the Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals in 2021.
The Hawks decided not to offer Young a contract extension last summer or during the early portions of this season. Because he is in the final guaranteed season of his contract and the Hawks seemed to perform better without him, particularly on defense, the franchise and Young sought a trade.
When he met with the Atlanta press corps before Tuesday’s game, Young was asked whether he wanted to say anything to Hawks fans.
“I just wanted the Hawks fans to know how much I love and appreciate them …,” Young said. “Getting drafted, obviously the (draft night) trade … I still found a way to make a name for myself, make a name for my team and try to put this city on the map where people were talking about us. You can’t do that without the fans. The fans showed us so much love throughout the years that I was here, even the years that we was down. It felt like there was still a lot of love. So, I’ve got so much love for this city and these fans.”
The 27-year-old has yet to play in a game for Washington, with team officials citing an MCL sprain in his right knee and a quadriceps contusion as the reason for Young’s absence. Young last played on Dec. 27, and Wizards officials said he’s ramping up his on-court work now.
“I wish I could have played tonight, my first night (back) here,” Young said. “But it just wasn’t in God’s plan. I’m going to be playing back here a lot in the future.”
