Nick Young (basketball)

Nicholas Aaron Young (born June 1, 1985), nicknamed "Swaggy P", is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Young played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was a two-time first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-10. He was selected by the Washington Wizards in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft with the 16th overall pick. He won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2018.

Nick Young

Young with the Lakers in December 2014
Personal information
Born	(1985-06-01) June 1, 1985 Los Angeles, California
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Cleveland (Los Angeles, California)
College	USC (2004–2007)
NBA draft	2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 16th overall
Selected by the Washington Wizards
Playing career	2007–2018
Position	Shooting guard
Career history
2007–2012	Washington Wizards
2012	Los Angeles Clippers
2012–2013	Philadelphia 76ers
2013–2017	Los Angeles Lakers
2017–2018	Golden State Warriors
2018	Denver Nuggets
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2018) 2× First-team All-Pac-10 (2006, 2007)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

High school career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Young played for Cleveland High School in suburban Reseda, California. He averaged 27.2 points and 10.8 rebounds as a 2004 senior at Cleveland, earning 2004 CIF L.A. City Section, Los Angeles Times All-City and San Fernando Valley first team honors. He shot 57.3% from the field and 46.8% from three-point range (52-of-111), had 48 steals and 41 blocks as Cleveland finished 25–4. Young was tabbed the seventh-best player in the country by HoopScoop and listed by prep basketball guru Frank Burlison as among the Top 50 recruits in 2004. He once scored 56 points in one game and had 23 rebounds in another. He earned CIF L.A. City Section first team honors in 2003 and was included in a list of Top Seniors by Athlon Sports heading into 2004.

College career

Young played for the University of Southern California from 2004 to 2007 and was All-Pac-10 First Team in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Young led the fifth-seeded Trojans to a berth in the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to the one-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels, 74–64.[1] Along the way, Young led USC to a 77–60 first-round win against Arkansas.[2] In the 2nd round, Young led the team with 22 points over the Texas Longhorns in an 87–68 rout of the team featuring the National Player of the Year, Kevin Durant, though Durant led both teams in scoring with 30.[3]

Following his junior season, as expected,[4] Young announced on April 15, 2007 to the Los Angeles Times that he would forgo his senior year to turn professional and enter the 2007 NBA Draft,[5] where he was selected with the 16th overall pick by the Washington Wizards.

Professional career

Washington Wizards (2007–2012)

Young with Washington in 2011

Young was selected 16th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2007 NBA draft. He started his first career NBA game on December 15, 2007, against the Sacramento Kings.

On January 9, 2010, Young was fined $10,000 by the Washington Wizards for participating in Gilbert Arenas's antics before a game on January 5, 2010 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Arenas was being investigated for a prior incident involving guns in the Wizards' locker room, but made light of the accusations by pointing his finger at his teammates, as if he were shooting them. His teammates were photographed smiling and laughing with him.[6]

Young scored a career-high 43 points on January 11, 2011 against the Sacramento Kings.[7]

Los Angeles Clippers (2012)

On March 15, 2012, Young was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in a three-way trade involving the Denver Nuggets and Washington Wizards. Later, on April 16, 2012, he helped the Clippers clinch their first playoff berth in 6 years with a 19-point performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was also a key part of the Clippers' comeback victory against the Memphis Grizzlies in game one of the first round of the 2012 playoffs, making three three-pointers in under a minute.

Philadelphia 76ers (2012–2013)

On July 12, 2012, Young signed with the Philadelphia 76ers to a one-year deal.[8]

Los Angeles Lakers (2013–2017)

On July 11, 2013, Young signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.[9] During the 2013–14 season, he converted a Lakers-record seven four-point plays while averaging a career-high 17.9 points per game.[10][11]

On July 21, 2014, Young re-signed with Lakers to a reported four-year, $21.5 million contract.[12][13] During training camp, he suffered a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb, and was expected to miss six to eight weeks.[10] After missing the first ten games of the season with the injury, Young made his season debut on November 18 against the Atlanta Hawks, recording 17 points and 5 rebounds in a 114–109 win.[14] On December 12, he scored a season-high 29 points in a 112–110 win over the San Antonio Spurs.[15]

On November 30, 2016, Young was ruled out for two to four weeks due to a strained right calf muscle.[16] On December 17, 2016, he made eight three-pointers and scored a season-high 32 points in a 119–108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.[17] Between late December and early January, Young's burst from long range gave him 36 three-pointers in eight games—the most in an eight-game stretch in Lakers franchise history.[18] On April 2, 2017, after being held out of 11 of the previous 12 games despite being healthy, Young was shut down by the Lakers for the last five regular-season games.[19] On June 21, 2017, the Lakers announced that Young elected not to exercise his option to extend his contract for the 2017–18 season, thus becoming an unrestricted free agent.[20]

Golden State Warriors (2017–2018)

On July 7, 2017, Young signed with the Golden State Warriors.[21] In his debut for the Warriors in their season opener on October 17, 2017, Young came off the bench to hit six 3-pointers and score 23 points in a 122–121 loss to the Houston Rockets.[22] He helped the Warriors reach the 2018 NBA Finals, where they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in a four-game sweep, with Young winning his first NBA championship.

Denver Nuggets (2018)

On December 10, 2018, Young signed with the Denver Nuggets.[23] Twenty days later, on December 30, he was waived by the Nuggets, after only appearing in four games.[24]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high
†	Won an NBA championship

NBA

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2007–08	Washington	75	2	15.4	.439	.400	.815	1.5	.8	.5	.1	7.5
2008–09	Washington	82	5	22.4	.444	.341	.850	1.8	1.2	.5	.2	10.9
2009–10	Washington	74	23	19.2	.418	.406	.800	1.4	.6	.4	.1	8.6
2010–11	Washington	64	40	31.8	.441	.387	.816	2.7	1.2	.7	.3	17.4
2011–12	Washington	40	32	30.3	.406	.371	.862	2.4	1.1	.8	.3	16.6
2011–12	L.A. Clippers	22	3	23.5	.394	.353	.821	1.6	.5	.6	.3	9.7
2012–13	Philadelphia	59	17	23.9	.413	.357	.820	1.8	1.4	.6	.2	10.6
2013–14	L.A. Lakers	64	9	28.3	.435	.386	.825	2.6	1.5	.7	.2	17.9
2014–15	L.A. Lakers	42	0	23.8	.366	.369	.892	2.3	1.0	.5	.3	13.4
2015–16	L.A. Lakers	54	2	19.1	.339	.325	.829	1.8	.6	.4	.1	7.3
2016–17	L.A. Lakers	60	60	25.9	.430	.404	.856	2.3	1.0	.6	.2	13.2
2017–18†	Golden State	80	8	17.4	.412	.377	.862	1.6	.5	.5	.1	7.3
2018–19	Denver	4	0	9.3	.333	.375	.000	.3	.5	.0	.3	2.3
Career		720	201	22.8	.418	.376	.836	2.0	1.0	.5	.2	11.4

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2008	Washington	4	0	4.3	.111	.000	.750	.5	.3	.5	.0	1.3
2012	L.A. Clippers	11	0	18.2	.433	.515	.889	1.1	.3	.3	.4	8.3
2018†	Golden State	20	2	10.3	.302	.298	.750	.6	.2	.1	.0	2.6
Career		35	2	12.1	.357	.378	.833	.7	.2	.2	.1	4.2

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2004–05	USC	29	24	25.7	.441	.315	.644	4.1	1.3	.8	.3	11.1
2005–06	USC	30	30	33.9	.467	.333	.801	6.6	1.6	1.0	.2	17.3
2006–07	USC	37	36	33.2	.525	.440	.786	4.6	1.4	.7	.3	17.5
Career		96	90	31.1	.483	.368	.764	5.1	1.4	.8	.3	15.5

Personal life

In 2007, Young became the main subject of a documentary titled Second Chance Season, in which his exploits, shortcomings, and successes are reviewed.[25]

Young has had an on-again, off-again relationship with his high school sweetheart Keonna Green since 2002.[26] They have three children together, sons (born in 2012 and 2019) and a daughter (born in 2016).

Young and Australian rapper Iggy Azalea announced their engagement on June 1, 2015. Azalea broke off their engagement a year later after a video of Young discussing how he was having an affair with another woman surfaced.[27] After Azalea broke off her engagement to Young, Keonna Green confirmed that she was 22 weeks pregnant with Young's second child.[28][29]

Young is the cousin of Kevon Looney, who is also an NBA player. They became teammates with the Warriors in 2017–18.[30] Young is also a cousin of rapper Kendrick Lamar.[31]

Young's nickname is "Swaggy P", which he said is a pseudo-biblical reference to "the Prophet of Swag".[32]

References

1. "UNC pulls off biggest rally of the season to dismiss USC". ESPN.com. March 23, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
2. "Gibson keys decisive Trojan victory over Hogs". ESPN.com. March 16, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
3. "Young pours in 22 points for USC in blowout of Texas". ESPN.com. March 18, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
4. Katz, Andy (April 16, 2007). "Trojans' Young set to declare but may not get agent". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
5. "USC's Young passes on senior year, turns pro". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 17, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
6. "The Washington Wizards have fined four players for participating in Arenas' antics". Sports.espn.go.com. January 9, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
7. "Wizards vs. Kings: Nick Young scores 43 and Washington survives meltdowns to win in overtime, 136-133". Washingtonpost.com. January 12, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
8. Sixers Sign Free Agent Guard Nick Young
9. "Lakers Sign Nick Young". NBA.com. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
10. Markazi, Arash (October 3, 2014). "Nick Young has torn thumb ligament". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
11. "LOS ANGELES LAKERS 2013-14 SEASON REVIEW" (PDF). NBA.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
12. "Lakers Sign Nick Young". NBA.com. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
13. "Nick Young Agrees To Re-Sign With Lakers On Four-Year, $21.5M Deal". RealGM.com. July 11, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
14. "Bryant leads struggling Lakers past Hawks 114-109". NBA.com. November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
15. "Nick Young 2014-15 Game Log". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
16. "Lakers' Nick Young to miss 2-4 weeks with calf injury". NBA.com. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
17. "LeBron scores 16 in fourth as Cavs outlast Lakers 119-108". ESPN.com. December 17, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
18. "Kyle Lowry scores 41 as Raptors hold off Lakers, 123-114". ESPN.com. January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
19. Medina, Mark (April 2, 2017). "Lakers' D'Angelo Russell takes 'huge step forward' during game against Grizzlies". DailyNews.com. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
20. "Nick Young Becomes Free Agent". NBA.com. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
21. "Warriors Sign Free Agent Guard Nick Young". NBA.com. July 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
22. "Rockets rally to spoil defending champion Warriors return". ESPN.com. October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
23. "Denver Nuggets Sign Nick Young, Waive Brandon Goodwin". NBA.com. December 10, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
24. "Denver Nuggets waive guard Nick Young". NBA.com. December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
25. "Second Chance Season (2007) - Movie Info - Yahoo! Movies". Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
26. Sullivan, Marisa; Webber, Stephanie (July 6, 2016). "Nick Young's Pregnant Ex, Keonna Green, Breaks Her Silence: 'I'm Not Going to Apologize for Being in Love'". US Weekly. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
27. Ward, Mary (July 1, 2016). "Iggy Azalea broke up with Nick Young after catching infidelity on 'security footage'". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
28. Chen, Joyce (July 2, 2016). "Young's previous relationship". US Magazine. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
29. "Nick Young's Ex Keonna Green Confirms She's Pregnant With Their Baby, Feels No Guilty About Iggy Azalea Split". E! News. July 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
30. Letourneau, Connor (July 9, 2017). "Warriors' Kevon Looney readies for 'big' Summer League". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 11, 2017.
31. Palladino, Paul (October 31, 2012). "Interview: Nick Young Talks Style, His Cousin Kendrick Lamar and His Experience With a Fire Extinguisher". complex.com. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
32. Markazi, Arash (January 6, 2015). "The Lakers' 'Odd Couple'". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 23, 2015.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Nick Young at usctrojans.com