The Washington Wizards are catching the attention of the rest of the league and for good reason.
Washington has assembled one of the best young cores in the league from top to bottom, and not only because of the emergence of sophomore's Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George, but because of the options their depth has given them.
Between the breakout stretch for rookie standout Tre Johnson, and the recovery that second-year man Bub Carrington has made after a slow start to the season, Washington's depth has quietly become of their biggest strengths.
And that's not even factoring in the potential addition of a top prospect this offseason if the Wizards are able to avoid any nightmare scenarios the league's anti-tanking dilemma could throw their way.
Oh, and the obvious fact that Washington landed two big fish ahead of the NBA trade deadline; forming a new superstar duo of Trae Young and Anthony Davis to lead the Wizards into the next step of their rebuild.
In fact, those two acquisitions are arguably the biggest reason why the Wizards have quietly been placed back on the map, even in the eyes of stars like LeBron James.
James, who is a former teammate of Davis and a long-time fan of Young, made it clear about his interest in what the Wizards are building on a recent episode of the Mind the Game podcast.
The pending free agent also revealed the exact motivation for both of the team's newest additions ahead of next season.
LeBron reveals motivation for both Young & AD
While discussing his interest on what the Wizards were building, James mentioned he'll be intrigued to see if the new teammates in Washington get together this offseason to improve chemistry with one another and young players on the roster.
In the same sentence, James also said something that may be extremely obvious to most, but could be a huge key for the team's success next season.
"We'll see how motivated, you know, Trae and AD are to prove—Dallas, LA, and Atlanta—you know, how they might say, 'Listen, we know what we're capable of,' but every year is different," James said.
Both Young and Davis find themselves in Washington not because they exactly wanted to move on from their current situations, but because their previous teams wanted to move on from them.
With a chip on their shoulder, the two stars could be even more dangerous looking to prove their previous teams made a mistake and with an already motivated young core, Washington could be a sleeper to watch next season.