Trae Young takes a third Bob Lanier honor after a summer of giving in Washington and Oklahoma

Trae Young won the league’s offseason Bob Lanier Community Assist honor from NBA Cares on Monday, October 19, an honor the league and the players’ union gave him for a summer of giving split between Washington and Oklahoma. It is the third time the award has gone to Young, and the first since his move to the Washington Wizards.

The timing gives the 28-year-old guard a quiet win before a loud week. Washington opens its regular season at home on Wednesday, and Young arrives fresh off a preseason in which he led the league in assists.

What earned the award

Most of the work was aimed at his new city. Young and the Trae Young Family Foundation pledged $100,000 in Washington, split evenly between DC Central Kitchen, which runs culinary job training, school meals and hunger relief, and the DC College Access Program, which helps students at the city’s public and public charter high schools reach and finish college.

He also turned his birthday into a three-day tour of the area. He visited Monument Academy, Friendship Technology Prep and Thurgood Marshall High to talk with students about mental health and getting through hard moments, brought signed jerseys to children at MedStar Georgetown Hospital, hosted a no-cost Pro-Am Day in Oxon Hill and ran a four-hour clinic for more than 175 children on the campus of the Prince George’s County community college, with Jr. Wizards coaches on the floor.

Oklahoma, where he grew up and played his college ball, was not left out. The family’s athletic center in Norman opened two years ago, and in July Young announced a second site in Yukon built on the same model. In its release, the league put the foundation’s giving to Oklahoma sports and recreation facilities at more than $4 million.

Young said the off-court work “matters just as much” as anything he does in a game, and he thanked what he called his “two homes” for their support.

As part of the award, the league and the NBPA Foundation will send $20,000 between them to the same two Washington charities. Each season has one offseason winner, who receives the Bob Lanier trophy, and seven monthly winners.

Congrats to @TheTraeYoung on winning the @nbacares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for his impact over the offseason! pic.twitter.com/9ZnL54HMVk

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) October 19, 2026

Where his game stands

On the court, Young finished the exhibition schedule with 30 assists in four games, 7.5 a night in about 24 minutes, including 11 against Brooklyn on October 12. In his 15 games last season he averaged 17.9 points and 8.0 assists with 61.2 percent true shooting. His full numbers are on his player page.

What comes next

The Wizards host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, October 21, at 7 p.m. Eastern. Follow it in the Game Center.