There's a new era in the DMV and it's come by way of the Washington Wizards sudden emergence over the last few months.
After years of quietly building one of the best young cores in the league, general manager Will Dawkins and President of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger made their honest thoughts about the team's nucleus crystal clear ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
Forming a superstar duo with four-time All-Star Trae Young and one of the most versatile big men the game has ever seen in Anthony Davis, Washington has assembled a superstar duo to lead the young core to the next stage of their rebuild.
Following years of being an organization that players and even fans labeled as the place where NBA careers went to die.
Whether you were a veteran player, coach or young prospect, the Washington Wizards were deemed as the franchise that nobody wanted to go to.
Now, after the trend that rising star Alex Sarr started, Washington found themselves being Young's preferred landing spot and potentially turning Davis' opinion around about the organization just by sharing the future vision with their newest addition.
However, while the new duo has added even more excitement to Wizards' basketball, the looming debut for the two players didn't seem to be in the near future.
Young has already been sidelined since he joined the Wizards in late January, with a reevaluation expected to come after the NBA All-Star Break.
As for Davis, many expected the big man to miss the remainder of the regular season.
By surprise to many, general manager Will Dawkins' made it clear that there's still a chance for Davis to play this season.
Will Dawkins' doesn't rule AD out for the season
In a recent interview with media, Dawkins' was asked about Davis' progression and his recovery process to the hand injury that was initially expected to sideline him 6-10 weeks.
Will Dawkins says Anthony Davis will go back to Dallas to continue his rehab on his hand.
— Bijan Todd (@bijan_todd) February 8, 2026
He will then have an important doctor’s appointment over All-Star break and will return to D.C. before season’s end. pic.twitter.com/LN7VsZMaKO
Dawkins' announced that the former Maverick will remain in Dallas with his current doctors, who will offer a much-needed update on his timeline to return, with Davis expected to join the team after All-Star break.
Although the most likely outcome for Davis is to miss the remainder of the season, the team's general manager left the door open on a possible debut prior to the end of the regular season, especially if his looming visit with the doctors offers good news.
Regardless of when Davis' debut comes, it's clear that there's plenty of anticipation to see the team's new duo on the court with the young core.