Nick Young is an American professional basketball player who currently plays as a shooting guard and small forward. He flaunts his skills as a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Golden State Warriors team.
In his college baller years, Young played for the USC Trojans. He was also a two-time first-team all-team selection in the Pac-10 and in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft, he was selected 16th overall by the Washington Wizards.
In the summer of 2017, Young became a free agent, finishing a season averaging 13.2 points in each game. He joined the Golden State Warriors in 2018 knowing he could make more money by signing with another team. Now he plays with the likes of Kevin Durant, Steven Kerr and Draymond Green.
Young played for other teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, and Philadelphia 76ers.
Table of Contents
Nick Young Biography
Professional career
Relationship with Iggy Azalea
Girlfriend, Baby Mom, Son
Nick Young Biography
Nick Young was born on June 1, 1985 in Reseda, California as the son of Charles Young Sr. and Mae Young.
The basketball player has a cousin named Kevon Looney who is also an NBA player and he is the cousin of musical artist Kendrick Lamar. At age 5, Young lost one of his older brothers, Charles Young Jr, to a gang shootout. The tragic incident affected Young so much that he had to be admitted to a mental institution.
Nonetheless, he became a huge basketball fan and played for suburban Cleveland High School. As a senior at school in 2004, Young averaged 27.2 points and 10.8 rebounds, earning him Los Angeles Times All-City of the Year, First-Team honors from San Fernando Valley and the CIF LA City section. That year, he was also named the 7th best player in the country and listed among the top 50 rookies.
Recalling his younger days, Young said he always wanted to be on “that stage.” He says he was 15 when his older brother Terrell drove him to downtown Los Angeles to see the Lakers celebrate their 2000 NBA title. As a grassroots Lakers fan at the time, Young was amazed to see the crowd of around 250,000 who were also there to watch his idol, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Professional career
Young began his career path after high school and played for the University of Southern California between 2004 and 2007. Shortly after being selected 16th overall by the Washington Wizards in the 2007 NBA Draft, he played his first NBA career game against the Sacramento Kings in December of that year.
During his partnership with the Washington Wizards from 2007 to 2012, Young was at the peak of his career, scoring 43 points against the Sacramento Kings in 2011.
The NBA star later agreed to a one-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers in July 2012, then joined the Los Angeles Lakers the following year. While with the Lakers, he created a team record and increased his scoring average to 17.9.
He continued to play with the Lakers on a renewed $21.5 million contract from 2014 to 2018 and is currently signed with the Golden State Warriors as a No. 6, serving as a shooting guard and small forward.
Like most athletes, the game comes with injuries and Young has his own fair share. He has suffered a few injuries so far, including a radial collateral ligament in his right thumb, which kept him out of action for around eight weeks, in 2014. strained calf on his right leg, which prevented him from playing. for about a month, in 2016.
But throughout his busy and progressive career, Young finds the time and the means to make good impacts on society. Inspired by the death of his older brother, he created the Nick Young Foundation to help end gang violence and to offer psychiatric help to victims. On other occasions, he organized free basketball camps for less privileged children.
Young’s net worth is pegged at $8 million in 2016, with an annual salary of $5.444 million.
Relationship with Iggy Azalea
Nick Young and Australian-born rapper Iggy Azalea started dating in September 2013 and got engaged a few years later. It was on her 30th birthday that Young proposed to Azalea and she accepted.
Their relationship has since hit rocks and the two have gone their separate ways, but not before Young’s controversial infidelity confession video.
The video showed a private conversation between Young and LA Laker teammate D’Angelo Russell, who recorded Young as he shared his craziness about Azalea. Russell can be heard in the background of the video asking Young about his relationships with other women. Young didn’t realize that Russell was recording the manly gossip.
At one point, Russel asked Young about the age gap between him and the side chick he was with at the nightclub. In an obvious attempt to convince Young, Russel asked him about Amber Rose – asking if he could/had taken a step on the famous model as well. Young respondent saying “no, she knows my daughter”.
The conversation ended when Russel was heard saying, “I’m glad you said that to my video.” After the scandal, Azalea replied on her twitter that she liked that Russel shared the video. She has been spotted several times without the $500,000 diamond engagement ring Young gave her. In the end, she confirmed they were over, saying trust was something they couldn’t rebuild.
Girlfriend, Baby Mom, Son
Meanwhile, Young already has a baby mom, KeonnaGreen who had two children, son Nick Jr and daughter Navi for the Basketballer. Green is an entrepreneur and owner of TNK Hair studios in LA and their relationship began in high school, in 2002, when she was a cheerleader.
Amid the controversial split between Youngand girlfriend Azalea in 2015, Green was a few weeks pregnant. In response to her role in the split, she said she would not apologize for being in love with Nick Young. The two are said to be back together and Young seemed happy when he took the mother of his children to a fancy restaurant in West Hollywood last year.