How Tre Johnson’s hot streak validates Trae Young as Wizards’ ‘coach on the side’

The Washington Wizards keep hitting two birds with one stone: having competitive performances that foster player development while staying on pace to keep their top-eight protected draft pick. They continued that trend with Saturday’s 119-115 road loss to the Charlotte Hornets, as sharpshooting rookie Tre Johnson notched a career-high 26 points (8-22 FG, 6-15 3-point) with six assists over 37 minutes.

The 19-year-old delivered that performance about 36 hours after calling injured star Trae Young (knee, quadriceps) a “coach on the side.”

I asked Tre Johnson what he’s learned from watching Trae Young over the years and from being around him since the trade (thread):

“Great passer. Great IQ of the game, especially seeing it from a different lens now not being on the court, you can actually see the whole floor…” pic.twitter.com/9LIafKJFbt

— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) January 23, 2026

“Great passer. Great IQ of the game, especially seeing it from a different lens now not being on the court, you can actually see the whole floor, I would say.” Johnson said when asked how Young has influenced him both as a player over the years and as a teammate since Washington acquired him on Jan. 7. “Just giving bits and pieces to guys as you’re coming out or during timeouts. I feel like just listening and paying attention, ‘cause most of the stuff he’s talking about, the next play it’ll be open or kind of happen. It’s like having another coach on the side.”

Young has yet to make his on-court debut for the Wizards and will be out at least until the All-Star break as he rehabs. However, the four-time All-Star constantly shares knowledge with the “Wiz Kids” on the bench during games, and that’s yielded results for Johnson.

The 19-year-old’s playmaking has taken a jump recently, as he set a new career-high with five assists in the Wizards’ 110-106 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 19 before notching six in Charlotte. He’s had three outings with a 3.0-plus assist/turnover ratio over the last five after having only two across his previous 32 games.

Tre Johnson’s passing continues to stand out. 5 assists for him already, pic.twitter.com/2ixg41Zopj

— Wizards Film Room (@KevinFolliNBA) January 24, 2026

That growth is partially from gaining more experience, but having Young around “giving bits and pieces” doesn’t hurt either. The former All-NBA honoree led the league with 11.6 assists per game last season, so Johnson’s description of him and the way he helps on the sidelines lines up.

Young is an elite offensive organizer and facilitator, while Johnson is primarily a shooter. The latter player may never become a Young-level playmaker, but he’s also establishing himself as a capable secondary ballhandler on top of being a 39.3 percent three-point shooter. The next step is to maintain consistency, which he named one of his main goals for the rest of the season after Thursday’s 107-97 home loss to the Denver Nuggets.

“Consistency and defense. Those are the two biggest things on my mind,” he said.

Michael Winger outlines growth expectations for Trae Young, Wizards

Johnson’s comments about Young also align with what team president Michael Winger said about the latter player during his press conference on Thursday, via Monumental Sports Network.

“Trae Young has a very long track record of making players around him better, particularly on the offensive end,” he said. “For what we’re trying to do organizationally, player development being our priority, we believe that Trae Young will contribute mightily to our player development program, not only for himself, but for all of our athletes.”

Johnson’s quote and recent assist numbers show that Winger’s words weren’t empty. Young is already helping Washington’s “player development program” despite not playing a game with the team yet.

“And I think guys just have fun playing with him, so doubling down on joy,” Winger continued. “We believe very much that whether it’s on the strategy team, on the coaching staff, or the evaluation team, if you love what you’re doing you’re probably going to be very good at what you’re doing. We want our players to continue to love playing basketball. It’s not really an issue for our guys, but I think Trae Young plays a joyful brand of basketball, and that will be contagious among our athletes.”

Young, who led the Atlanta Hawks to the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals, could be a floor-raiser for an organization that’s bottomed out to secure top-six draft lottery picks in each of the last two seasons and is doing the same this year. That process has been painful, yet necessary, as it’s landed Johnson and fellow foundational piece Alex Sarr as a result. After it drafts another foundational piece this summer, the plan is for Young and company to form a competitive squad next season.

“I’m not setting a barometer on what next season ought to be,” Winger said. “My expectation is that, particularly with Trae Young on the basketball team, and the development of our young players [like] Alex, [Kyshawn George], Bilal [Coulibaly], Bub [Carrington], Tre, et cetera, we are going to be better next season than we are this season. How much better remains to be seen. But I think that we all expect us to be better and more competitive next season, and Trae by himself will put us in more competitive basketball games than we’ve been in.”

For now, Wizards fans can enjoy progress amid an NBA-worst 10-34 campaign, like Johnson’s improved playmaking. Young’s eventual return this season will serve as a test drive for next year, when the organization plans to finally prioritize winning over developing while losing. Currently, the key is to finish in the bottom four of the league standings to make sure this summer’s lottery pick falls in the top eight, which would guarantee it not conveying to the New York Knicks.

Up next for Washington is a home date with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night.

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