NBA

Luka Doncic and Trae Young, forever linked, share something new: “I’m excited for him”

The stars traded for each other in 2018 have both now moved on from the franchises that once built around them.

Update: Jan 17th, 2026 11:25 EST

Revisiting the 2018 draft now requires a certain restraint, given everything that has happened to its main characters since. It has been a story of peaks and valleys and, more than that, of intersecting paths. Over time, one idea has hardened into near consensus: Luka Doncic should have been the No. 1 overall pick. His talent already justified it back then, and his performance has since made him the defining player of that class.

Doncic falls to No. 3 in 2018 draft

That part of the debate is well established. The secondary discussion usually focuses on the teams that passed on him before he fell to No. 3. The Phoenix Suns chose DeAndre Ayton. The Sacramento Kings went with Marvin Bagley III. Both franchises believed they were right that night.

What often gets lost is that there was a third team, one that actually held the third pick and had a clear shot at selecting the Real Madrid prodigy, but chose a different path.

The trade that tied Doncic and Young forever

The Atlanta Hawks, echoing a move the Memphis Grizzlies made in 2001 with Pau Gasol and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, opted to trade down instead of picking at No. 3. This time, the other player involved was Trae Young.

The Dallas Mavericks traded up after quietly laying the groundwork with Doncic’s camp and selected him third overall. Atlanta moved down to No. 5 and took Young. Despite maintaining a good personal relationship over the years, and despite being separated by conferences, the comparisons were inevitable and relentless. Who is better? Why did the trade happen? What would have changed if things had gone differently?

Trust lost, exits arrived sooner than expected

What makes the parallel even starker is that not even eight years later, both players have experienced, each in his own way, a loss of faith from the teams that drafted them.

For Doncic, it came in the form of a shocking trade that sent him to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis. For Young, it was the exit door Atlanta showed him, shipping him to the Washington Wizards.

The differences between the two situations are enormous. The Slovenian star is now focused on pushing his new team into prime playoff position and chasing a championship. Young, meanwhile, was moved in a deal driven more by salary cap flexibility than immediate on-court impact, landing with a franchise that has no short-term title ambitions.

NBA plot twists

If this all feels like a circle closing, the plot thickens even more. Young drew interest from the Mavericks, the same team that held the No. 5 pick eight years ago and could have drafted him. The potential outgoing piece from Dallas would have been Davis, the player who replaced Doncic and whom the franchise has also now moved on from. At the same time, the Lakers’ starting center this season is DeAndre Ayton, the No. 1 pick in that 2018 draft, a Finals runner-up with the Suns who later bounced through Portland.

Life changes in strange ways, but even Quentin Tarantino might hesitate to write twists like these. Talking about the NBA is never boring.

Wizards announcer Chris Miller quoting Trae Young earlier today:

"He is absolutely ecstatic about this opportunity in DC"

TRAE YOUNG GETTING ME HYPED 🔥 pic.twitter.com/078OvDlwSQ
— WizardsMuse (@WizardsMuse1) January 17, 2026

Trae Young’s new chapter in Washington

Now with the Wizards, Young’s mission is to restore his shine over the coming years. Trying to convince him that Washington is the right place to do that is a familiar face. Travis Schlenk, Atlanta’s general manager when the Hawks drafted Young, now works in Washington as vice president in charge of player relations. Alongside president of basketball operations Will Dawkins, he will be a key link in presenting Young with a contract extension offer.

Young is eligible this summer for an extension worth nearly $50 million annually, but he wants to see what lies ahead before committing. Even the possibility of shutting him down for the rest of the season is on the table. Everything remains open.

“I have a lot of respect for him. So if he’s excited about the new path he’s taking, I’m excited for him too,” Doncic said when asked about the news.

Doncic and Young top combined points stat

Their impact goes beyond the trade that bound their careers together. According to ESPN data, they are the two players in NBA history who generate the most combined points through scoring and assists. Doncic averages 48.9 points created per game, while Young is at 48.1. Neither has won a championship, but the statistical footprint they have already left is undeniable.