“I was at a restaurant with my wife when I found out,” PJ Washington tells me. “We were happy and screaming.” This certainly isn’t an NBA player’s typical account of the moment he finds out he’s been traded. But the Dallas Mavericks forward is not on the typical trajectory of an NBA player. Five years after being drafted in the first round by the former cellar-dwelling Charlotte Hornets, Washington got a call at the trade deadline in February that changed his life: He was heading home to Texas.
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We spoke to Washington ahead of the Mavericks’ opening game against the red-hot Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night in the Western Conference finals, a best-of-seven-game battle for a spot in the NBA championship round. Washington, 25, is actually a Dallas native, and says he grew up going to Mavericks games as a kid “all the time” and watching current head coach Jason Kidd run the point alongside Dirk Nowitzki. Recalling those formative years Tuesday morning, just before boarding a plane for Minneapolis, Washington acknowledges that finding his way back to DFW — especially on a team with championship potential — is immensely fortunate. “It’s a full circle moment,” he tells the Guardian. “Being able to come home, play for the home team. Not many guys get that opportunity.”
What Washington did with this opportunity is remarkable. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound forward fit in seamlessly in Dallas, effortlessly plugging into the team’s new identity as defensive stalwarts and serving as an ideal supporting cast member for Luka Dončić, the runner-up in MVP voting. this season, and born- the All-Star point guard back into relevance, Kyrie Irving. “I was a little nervous at first,” says Washington, who had never dealt with the turmoil of being traded. “But when I got here, everyone welcomed me with open arms, encouraged me to be myself every day.” Soon, Washington was comfortable and faced with the opportunity that every young, talented player in the league dreams of: flourishing. “When I got here, I always had the mentality to go out there and do whatever was necessary to help my team win,” Washington says. “That’s who I am as a player.” Dallas’ victory began almost immediately, as it won 31 of 49 games after the deadline to jump into fifth place in the West standings.
Although Washington always had something of a pedigree, as a McDonald’s All-American and a success at the vaunted University of Kentucky, some spectators worried that four and a half years in a losing environment like Charlotte would ruin his winning habits. But for Washington that was never a concern. “I just have a love and passion for the game. I always wanted to go out and win every game I played.” That hasn’t wavered, he says. He just got a different opportunity in Dallas. “It was easy for me to go out and compete [even under the circumstances in Charlotte]because I love being able to say I’m tied in in the NBA, playing against guys like LeBron, the best in the league.” He quickly adds that he wasn’t alone in his desire to win in Charlotte, that other players on the team had the same talent and desire, but simply weren’t fortunate enough to be transported to a better situation. “I feel like a lot of young people have the same mentality,” he says. “[Winning] It just didn’t happen.”
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a relief for Washington to get back to playing important games again. He has proven to be among those special players who are able to reach their full potential as the lights get brighter. He attributes this characteristic to his competitiveness – “I hate losing. Even as a child, I was always like that.” – and it shows. He has been the Mavericks’ third most important player through two postseason runs. He was actually the team’s second-leading scorer in the crucial second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, ahead of Irving, sealing the series with a pair of game-winning free throws.
Asked what was going through his mind at that moment, with his feet on the bandwagon, seconds left in the competition, his hometown team’s ticket to the Western Conference finals on the line, Washington said his comfort and preparation gave him the necessary calm required by the moment. . “I just thought about all the work I did [up to that moment] trying to get better, being able to calm down, just focus.” Another important factor? “I knew my teammates would be happy with me either way.”
Washington, who is represented by Kevin Bradbury of Lift Sports and in the first season of a three-year, $46.5 million contract, says the Mavericks have “great leaders” and a team full of guys who just want to win . Plus, chemistry is out of the question. “We’re all excited for each other, we all want to see each other happy,” he says. “We are there for each other on and off the court.” Therein may be the lesson for any team looking to steal their own PJ on the trade market from a lottery team. Of course, it’s critical to find someone like Washington, a player with innate passion, talent and fire. But putting him in the right situation is what will ultimately differentiate successes from disappointments in the second chance department.
Washington says he hasn’t had much time to reflect on his star turn. “It all happened so quickly that I’m still trying to take it all in,” he says. “But if I look back now, I think I would be proud of myself as a kid. Just being able to reach this point in my career, in my life. A lot of people don’t have that opportunity, so just to be able to say I was here, I’m forever grateful for that.”
