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Jackie Young

Jackie Young
Young with Las Vegas in 2019
No. 0 – Las Vegas Aces
PositionShooting guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-09-16) September 16, 1997 (age 27)
Princeton, Indiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight165 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolPrinceton Community
(Princeton, Indiana)
CollegeNotre Dame (2016–2019)
WNBA draft2019: 1st round, 1st overall pick
Selected by the Las Vegas Aces
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–presentLas Vegas Aces
2020Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor
2020–2021A.S. Ramat Hasharon
2021–2022Perth Lynx
2025–presentLaces BC
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals

Jacquelyn Young (born September 16, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 WNBA draft. A graduate of Princeton Community High School, she played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, reaching two NCAA finals and winning one in 2018. She won a gold medal in Women's 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a national WNBA championship in 2022.[1] In 2024, she won the gold medal in 5x5 basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

In Young's high school career, the PCHS Tigers posted a 97-9 (.915) record. She finished as the leading scorer (girls' or boys' basketball) in Indiana high school history with 3,268 points, eclipsing the 26-year-old record set by Damon Bailey. Overall, Young averaged 30.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game, while shooting .583 from the field, .382 from beyond the arc and .858 from the free-throw line. She led Princeton to 53 consecutive wins and the 2015 Indiana Class 3A state championship. She scored 36 points in state title game, setting the record for most points in a Class 3A final, as well as the most points by one player in any Indiana girls' basketball state title game since 1980.

Young led her team to a 27–1 record in her senior season, ranking third in the state and ninth in the nation in scoring with 34.9 PPG. She also achieved 9.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.8 steals. She shot .605 as a senior with a .429 mark from three-point range and an .861 free-throw percentage. All told, she compiled 20 30-point games, 10 40-point games and a season high 53 points on Nov 20 vs. county rival Gibson Southern. She was the recipient of the 2016 Indiana Miss Basketball award.

Young set the Indiana high school girls' basketball single season scoring record as a junior, recording 1,003 points. She was the fifth player of either sex in state history to score 1,000 points in a season. She was ranked in the top-10 by nearly all major national recruiting services, including a No. 5 rank by Prospects Nation.

College career

Young played three seasons of college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish between 2016 and 2019, where she won an NCAA championship as a sophomore in 2018.[2][3] She earned ACC All-Freshman Team in 2017 and second-team All-ACC in 2019. She also earned ACC tournament MVP in 2019.[4]

Professional career

WNBA

Young had the option to remain at Notre Dame for the 2019–20 college season, but opted to enter the 2019 WNBA draft where she was selected with the first overall pick by the Las Vegas Aces, coached by Bill Laimbeer.[5] She later signed a multi-year deal with Puma.[6] She played the 2019 WNBA season as a point guard for the first time, having played as a shooting guard in college.[7] Young finished eighth in the WNBA with 153 total assists, and her 2.89 assist/turnover ranked sixth overall. She averaged 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game[7] and was subsequently named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.[8]

In the 2020 WNBA season, Young averaged 10.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assist in 40 games with the Aces.[4]

In the 2021 WNBA season, Young emerged as an early candidate for Most Improved Player after being shifted to that of a play finisher rather than a playmaker but eventually lost out to Brionna Jones as Dallas went out at the semi-final stage of the 2021 WNBA Playoffs.[9][10][11] Following her further improvements during the 2022 season, she was selected as most improved player throughout the WNBA in 2022.[12] She was also announced to her first WNBA All-Star team as a starter in July.[13] She was also a part of the championship winning Las Vegas Aces.[1]

Turkey and Israel

In February 2020, Young joined Turkish side Elazığ,[14] but her time there lasted only two games due to the coronavirus-induced cancellation of the league.[15] In the 2020–21 season, Young played in Israel for A.S. Ramat Hasharon from Israeli League.[4]

Australia

Young with the Perth Lynx in December 2021

On August 3, 2021, Young signed with the Perth Lynx in Australia for the 2021–22 WNBL season.[16] Her performances grew steadily and in particular her scoring improved from an average of 10 points per game in the first ten games to average over twenty five in her subsequent six games including 30, 36 and 26 points in consecutive matches to help Lynx finish the regular season second in the WNBL.[17][18][19] Jackie contributed 21, 12 and 18 respectively in the three-match final series which Melbourne Boomers won by two matches to one.[20][21][22][23] Young was made 2021–22 season MVP for Perth Lynx[24] and was runner-up overall league MVP.[25][26]

Unrivaled

On July 18, 2024, it was announced that Young would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, a new women's 3x3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.[27]

National team career

2020 Summer Olympics

In late March 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government postponed the 2020 Summer Olympics until the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28] In July 2021, Young won a gold medal in Women's 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[29][30]

2024 Summer Olympics

In June 2024, Young named to the US women's Olympic team to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in France alongside fellow Aces teammates, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, and A'ja Wilson.[31] Young and the United States defeated France 67–66 in the final, earning Young her first 5x5 gold medal and the United States’ eighth consecutive gold medal.[32]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

WNBA

Denotes seasons in which Young won a WNBA championship
* Denotes season(s) in which Young won an NCAA Championship

Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics[33]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Las Vegas 34 34 22.6 .322 .318 .808 3.3 4.5 0.8 0.4 1.6 6.6
2020 Las Vegas 22 0 25.8 .492 .231 .852 4.3 3.0 0.7 0.1 1.6 11.0
2021 Las Vegas 32 32 31.8 .507 .250 .833 4.1 3.2 1.1 0.3 1.5 12.2
2022 Las Vegas 34 34 33.2 .476 .431 .859 4.4 3.9 1.4 0.2 1.3 15.9
2023 Las Vegas 40 40 31.5 .523 .449 .867 4.0 3.8 1.3 0.1 1.8 17.6
2024 Las Vegas 37 37 32.6 .430 .337 .867 4.4 5.3 1.0 0.2 2.1 15.8
Career 6 years, 1 team 199 177 29.9 .465 .386 .852 4.0 4.0 1.1 0.2 1.6 13.5
All-Star 3 2 16.5 .190 .167 1.7 2.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 3.3

Playoffs

Stats current through end of 2024 playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2019 Las Vegas 5 5 12.4 .409 .800 .875 1.8 2.6 0.0 0.0 1.2 5.8
2020 Las Vegas 8 0 20.4 .309 .167 .905 3.0 2.8 0.3 0.1 2.4 7.8
2021 Las Vegas 5 5 26.0 .333 .000 1.000 3.2 2.2 1.0 0.4 0.6 5.6
2022 Las Vegas 10 10 34.5 .432 .474 .926 4.1 3.0 0.8 0.1 1.6 12.5
2023 Las Vegas 9 9 34.8 .421 .415 .914 5.6 5.0 1.6 0.1 1.2 16.7
2024 Las Vegas 6 6 30.5 .375 .359 .818 5.8 3.0 0.8 0.3 1.2 13.8
Career 6 years, 1 team 43 35 27.8 .388 .415 .907 4.1 3.2 0.8 0.2 1.4 11.1

Women's Basketball Super League

Figures are average per game[34]
Year/League Team GP MPG PPG FG% 3P% FT% RO RD RT APG PF BPG SPG TO RNK
Turkish League 2020 Elazig 2 20.5 4.5 28.6% 0.0% 50.0% 1.5 2.0 3.5 2.5 2.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 1.0

WNBL (Australia)

Year[35] Team G PTS FGA FGM FG% 3PA 3PM 3P% FTA FTM FT& DEF OFF REB AST BLK STL TO
2022 Perth Lynx 20 356 293 140 47.8 15 3 20 87 73 83.9 61 20 81 66 4 30 32

College

NCAA statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2016–17 Notre Dame 33 0 21.4 .463 .379 .803 4.6 1.4 1.8 0.3 1.5 7.3
2017–18* Notre Dame 38 38 34.4 .520 .282 .789 6.6 3.7 1.4 0.5 2.4 14.5
2018–19 Notre Dame 38 37 32.2 .528 .452 .785 7.4 5.1 1.3 0.4 1.9 14.7
Career 109 75 29.7 .512 .364 .790 6.3 3.5 1.2 0.4 1.9 12.4

References

  1. ^ a b Copeland, Kareem (September 18, 2022). "Aces cash in with their first WNBA title, topping the Sun in four games". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Jackie Young". und.com. July 9, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "Jackie Young - Women's Basketball". UND Athletics. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Jackie Young". usbasket.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Jackie Young is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft". ESPN.com.
  6. ^ "Jackie Young is the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 10, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Jackie Young poised for breakout Year 2". ND Insider. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  8. ^ "All-Rookie Teams". wnba.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  9. ^ Nemchock, Eric (June 1, 2021). "Three Up, Three Down: Jackie Young emerging as early candidate for Most Improved Player". swishappeal.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Connecticut Sun Brionna Jones named 2021 KIA Most Improved Player | Sporting News Canada". sportingnews.com. September 28, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  11. ^ "Phoenix Mercury punch ticket to the Finals in front of record-setting crowd". ESPN.com. October 9, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "Breanna Stewart earns AP WNBA Player of the Year honors". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Eberly, Keaton (June 22, 2022). "Jackie Young named starter in 2022 WNBA All-Star Game". 14news.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  14. ^ "Elazig inks Jackie Young".
  15. ^ "TBF cancels league for season". Türkiye Basketbol Federasyonu. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  16. ^ Lauren (August 3, 2021). "#1 WNBA DRAFT PICK AND OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST JACKIE YOUNG SIGNED FOR SEASON 2021/22". wnbl.basketball/perth. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "BRILLIANT YOUNG NOT QUITE ENOUGH FOR LYNX - Perth Lynx". Perth Lynx. March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "WNBL Women 2021/2022 scores, Basketball Australia - Flashscore". flashscore.com. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  19. ^ "LYNX TURN ATTENTION TO WNBL SEMI FINALS - Perth Lynx". Perth Lynx. March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  20. ^ "'Missing' WNBL trophy turns up just in time as Boomers thrash Lynx in decider". ABC News. April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  21. ^ "Match Stats 2 Apr - Perth Lynx". Perth Lynx. April 2, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  22. ^ "Match Stats 6 Apr - Perth Lynx". Perth Lynx. April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  23. ^ "Match Stats 9 Apr - Perth Lynx". Perth Lynx. April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  24. ^ "JACKIE YOUNG TAKES OUT LYNX MVP - Perth Lynx". Perth Lynx. April 21, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  25. ^ Hill, Kyle. "Tracking Jackie: Young named Lynx MVP". Princeton Clarion. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  26. ^ "Perth Lynx - And your Season 2021/22 MVP .... 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 - 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 💪 "There's a reason why Jackie finished 2nd in league MVP voting, went 1st in the WNBA draft, and already has a gold medal around her neck. She's a seriously talented player, and an even better human" - Ryan Petrik #perthlynx | Facebook". facebook.com. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  27. ^ @Unrivaledwbb (July 18, 2024). "JACKIE IS UNRIVALED👑 9/30✅" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ "IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Announce New Dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020". Olympic.org. March 30, 2020.
  29. ^ Bumbaca, Chris. "'My life changed like that': From vacation to Tokyo Olympics, Jackie Young wins 3-on-3 gold". USA Today. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "Former Notre Dame basketball player Jackie Young wins gold in first-ever Olympic 3x3 // The Observer". The Observer. July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  31. ^ Henderson, Cydney (June 17, 2024). "USA basketball Olympic women's team roster: Who made the cut for Paris Olympics". USA Today. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  32. ^ Summers, Juana (August 11, 2024). "U.S. women's basketball team defeats France to win eighth straight Olympic gold medal". NPR. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  33. ^ "Jackie Young WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
  34. ^ "Jackie Young stats summary". Eurobasket. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  35. ^ "Stats - Perth Lynx". Perth Lynx. Retrieved April 9, 2022.