Who is Nick Young? Everything You Need to Know

Nick Young was born on 1 June 1985 to Charles and Mae Young in Reseda, California. He had an older brother Charles Young Jr. who was killed as a victim of gang violence. Though Nick was only five years old at that time, he was severely affected by the death of his brother and later admitted in a mental institution.

Nick Young used to play for the Cleveland High School in Reseda. His performance got him the ranking of the seventh best player in the country by HoopScoop. In 2003, he earned his initial team honors and was subsequently included in the list of top seniors by Athlon Sports Communications. He was listed among the top 50 recruits of 2004 by prep basketball guru Frank Burlison.

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Career

Between 2004 and 2007, Nick Young played for the University of Southern California. He was also listed in the All-Pac-10 First Team—an honor that is bestowed to the best players in the team—for two consecutive seasons 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.

In the 2007 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, he led the team USC Trojans. The same year he announced that he would forego his senior year to pursue basketball as a professional and entered the 2007 NBA Draft.

In 2007, he was selected by the ‘Washington Wizards’ and picked as the 16th overall. His first match was in the same year, against ‘Sacramento Kings’. He was associated with the ‘Washington Wizards’ from 2007 to 2012. He scored his career highest score of 43 points against ‘Sacramento Kings’ in 2011.

In March 2012, he was traded to NBA team ‘Los Angeles Clippers’. During his association with the team between March and July, he was monumental in bringing the team victories against teams like ‘Oklahoma City Thunder’ and ‘Memphis Grizzlies’.

In July 2012, he signed a one year deal with team ‘Philadelphia 76ers.’ The following year he joined the ‘Los Angeles Lakers’. In the season 2013-14, he managed to create a record for the team along with increasing his average points per game to a career high 17.9 points.

In 2014, he renewed his contract with ‘Los Angeles Lakers’ for four years with a USD 21.5 million contract. However, injuries indered his initial games of the season and he made his debut for the season in November 2014. He continues to play with the ‘Los Angeles Lakers’.

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Awards & Achievements

His great performance earned him a position in the All-Pac-10 First Team twice, in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.

Personal Life & Legacy

In 2013, Nick Young began a romantic relationship with rapper Iggy Azalea. The couple announced their engagement in June 2015; however the engagement was broken off a year later by Iggy Azalea, because Nick Young cheated her.

He was previously in a relationship with entrepreneur Keonna Green with whom he has two children, a son named Nick Jr. (born in 2012) and a daughter, Navi (born in 2016).

Nick started the Nick Young Foundation to work towards ending gang violence and offer psychiatric services to victims affected by it. He is also planning to organize free basketball camps for less fortunate children.

In 2014, he injured the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb, which restricted him from playing for around eight weeks.

In November 2016, he suffered a strained calf muscle on his right leg which kept him away from the game for about a month.

Trivia

His nick name is ‘Swaggy P’, which is also his twitter username.

In 2010, he was fined USD 10000 by team ‘Washington Wizards’ for joining basketball player Gilbert Arenas in some antics prior to a game with the ‘Philadelphia 76ers’.

Nick Young Biography