The long-awaited debut for Trae Young comes on Thursday night when the Washington Wizards take on the Utah Jazz at Capital One Arena.
Following the blockbuster trade for the Atlanta Hawks star, Young has yet to suit up while rehabbing several injuries, including an MCL injury that has forced him to miss majority of the season.
Originally, many expected Washington to sideline the star guard for the rest of the regular season, as they continue to keep pace with the other tanking teams across the league in the sweepstakes for the No. 1 overall pick.
Those expectations have officially been put to rest with Young set to take the court with his new squad and officially start his tenure in the DMV.
That said, here's what you should expect for the former No. 5 overall pick's debut.
Will Trae Young start?
The team hasn't officially announced the starters for Thursday's game, but with how shorthanded they've been over their recent stretch it would be hard to envision them not starting their new cornerstone.
Allowing Young to have a standing ovation during the first time he checks in off the bench would be special, but not over the ovation he'll receive when he's introduced in the starting lineup for the first time.
If I had to put out a prediction now, I'd think the Wizards would roll out a starting lineup as close as possible to what it would look like when the team is fully healthy.
Prediction:
G Trae Young
G Tre Johnson
G Bilal Coulibaly
F Kyshawn George
C Tristan Vukcevic
How many minutes will Trae Young play?
According to head coach Brian Keefe, Young will in fact be on a minutes restriction when he hits the floor Thursday.
Keefe announced that the guard will play between 17 to 20 minutes, which likely won't be nearly enough time for a fanbase who's waited months to see their new star hit the floor.
Still, those minutes will be plenty of time for Young to show flashes of what his impact will look like in the DMV.
Depending on the game script, it's hard to predict just how many minutes the playmaker will actually get, but assuming Washington hopes to see as much of him as they can, I'd lean he'll play just up to the 20 minute mark.
There's plenty of excitement for what the Oklahoma product will look like in the team's system and fortunately, the first glimpse is on the horizon.