Fans packed the arena, buzzing with anticipation for Trae Young's debut. His arrival ignited a palpable energy, offering a much-needed jolt of star power.
It's been quite some time since fans in Washington eagerly arrived at Wizards games over an hour early.
The only times this has happened in recent years were when other teams' stars played at Capital One. Some examples this year include Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Luka Dončić.
Thursday night brought a new look in the building -- one that the team hopes becomes a recurrent theme. With an hour before tip, fans lined the Wizards' entrance way to the court, patiently waiting for Trae Young to make his highly anticipated debut.
This shouldn't be uncommon for NBA teams, but for the Wizards in the last five years, it has. For a town starving for a star on its hoops teams, Young's pedigree provides the spark they desperately coveted.
"I definitely felt the energy tonight. I mean, just from all the fans, every time I would sit down or be in the game or check into the game, you definitely felt it," Young said. "That's what I want here. I want the fans to feel involved and part of our winning in the future."
It just felt different in that building. On a night where the team lost to one of the league's bottom feeders, fans understand just how important this moment could be. Just his warmup alone was an anomaly in this city. Fans lined the seats and pulled out their cellphones to record him getting ready to play.
Young is no stranger to this attention. Since he was traded to the organization 58 days ago, he's carried himself like a franchise player without even touching the floor. Fans started joking that Young actually lived at Capital One Arena. When the team introduced him on January 9th against New Orleans, he brought energy from the bench.
Every timeout, every basket, Young was first off the bench to show his support. It was more than that. His moves were calculated. Even his outfits were statements.
On John Wall's celebration night, he showed up in Wall's jersey and wore it all night. On another night, he wore the jersey of arguably the greatest athlete in D.C. history, Alex Ovechkin. Lastly, he donned the Allen Iverson Georgetown jersey.
These actions are those of a guy who wants to be the face of a franchise. Whether or not he is around long-term or not, he's that guy at this very moment -- the fan response makes it apparent.
Even when he was ejected from Tuesday's game against Houston after Young stepped on the court during an altercation, the fans ate it up.
"I knew the crowd was going to be bringing energy, which they did," Young said. "You could feel it from the beginning in warmups and, even pregame. So I was just happy to be out there and playing, and I'm looking forward to playing some more games here."
The Young effect trickles down to more than rooting for a star. It drives new energy into support for the team. For just the second time all season, chants of "defense" rained from the lower bowl, all the way to the nose bleeds.
Wizards head coach Brian Keefe said he typically doesn't pay notice to the crowd or the fan response when he coaches, but he said last night's buzz was noticeable, even for him.
The start of the Young era saw some of the loudest pro-Wizards cheers of the entire rebuild. As he was announced as a starter for the first time in Washington, the ovation was one thing. On his second touch in a Wizard uniform, he dazzled his way to the basket for his first points in D.C. Those two moments sent shockwaves into the building for a fanbase that could prove to be a sleeping giant.
Young, who played his first game since late December, had been battling an MCL sprain and a quad injury. He said the adrenaline of the moment helped him push through. He added that he feels good overall.
Every touch felt like the beginning of a new chapter. As he flashed with behind-the-back passes and crafty layups, fans seemingly wanted more.
Young played on a tight minutes restriction, which saw him play an impactful 19 minutes. He scored 12 points, dished out six assists, and the team was four points better with him on the floor.
There's no question that he's a floor raiser. With him as the floor general, the offense will get plenty of open looks. He complimented his new teammates well. Tre Johnson scored 15 points on 5/9 shooting from behind the arc.
"Tre is an unbelievable player," Young said. "I know a lot of people may think he's just a shooter, but he does more than just shoot, and he can create, and He can make plays for others, he can drive the ball too. So for me, I'm learning these guys, and they're getting to learn me too."
Young's long-term future in Washington is unclear, but his audition to the city was as good a first impression as one could make. Last week, Marc Stein said he's been advised to expect Young and the Wizards to reach a three-year extension this summer. If that happens, Young can truly embrace his leadership role for the foreseeable future. In the meantime, he's a breath of fresh air the fanbase needed badly.
"I think it's very important that not only me as a teammate, but everybody outside the building, as fans, just really dive into this team," Young said. "This is a special group, and I really believe in the potential that we got with all the young guys and in the future we got here."