Tamera Young

Last updated

Tamera Young
Tamera Young 2019 (cropped).jpg
Young with Las Vegas in 2019
Personal information
Born (1986-10-30) October 30, 1986 (age 38)
Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school Emsley A. Laney
(Wilmington, North Carolina)
College James Madison (2004–2008)
WNBA draft 2008: 1st round, 8th overall pick
Selected by the Atlanta Dream
Playing career2008–present
PositionAssistant coach
Career history
As player:
20082009 Atlanta Dream
20092017 Chicago Sky
2016–17 Shanxi Flame
2017 Atlanta Dream
20182019 Las Vegas Aces
As coach:
2024 Chicago Sky (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
  • AP honorable mention All-American (2008)
  • CAA Player of the Year (2008)
  • CAA All-Defensive Team (2006)
  • 3× First-team All-CAA (2006–2008)
  • CAA All-Freshman Team (2005)
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball Reference
Close-up shot of Young's arm and leg tattoos. Tamara Young's Believe in Yourself tattoo closeup - 48623804718.jpg
Close-up shot of Young's arm and leg tattoos.

Tamera "Ty" Young (born October 30, 1986) is an American former basketball player and assistant coach with the Chicago Sky. After playing collegiately for James Madison University, Young was drafted by the Atlanta Dream with the 8th overall pick of the 2008 WNBA draft. She was traded to the Chicago Sky, and helped them to the WNBA Finals in 2014, then came back to Atlanta, and was traded to the Aces in 2018.

Contents

Personal

Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Tamera Young is the daughter of the late Greg Young and Lynda Nichols-Brown and John Brown. She has an older brother, A.J., and an older sister, Nikia. Her cousin, Willie Williams, was a cornerback for the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers and a 13-year NFL veteran (Steelers 1993–96, 2005; Seattle Seahawks 1997–2003). Tamera is the all-time leading scorer at Emsley A. Laney High School, the same high school that produced Michael Jordan, where her number 11 jersey is retired. During her senior year she led the "Buccaneers to the 2004 Conference Championship. During her off-seasons, she spent her time with her ex-fiancée, Mimi Faust in Atlanta raising awareness about pancreatic cancer to which she lost her father on April 6, 2015. [1]

College career

Tamera played collegiately at James Madison University in the Colonial Athletic Association. She set numerous records while in college, including the conference's all-time scoring record. [2] As a senior, she led JMU to the third round of the 2008 WNIT, before ultimately losing to the University of Kentucky.

James Madison statistics

Source [3]

Legend
  GPGames 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
YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2004–05James Madison2939942.132.463.87.01.52.50.413.8
2005–06James Madison3148539.329.265.59.92.52.30.215.6
2006–07James Madison3354440.233.374.78.02.32.10.316.5
2007–08James Madison3469341.019.765.210.43.01.90.720.4
CareerJames Madison127212140.629.767.18.92.42.20.416.7

WNBA career

Young was drafted in the first round with the eighth overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the expansion team Atlanta Dream. [4] In her first season with the Dream Tamera became the first player [5] from James Madison University to play in the WNBA and wore the number 23 on her jersey. In her second season she switched to the number 11, which she wore in college. While playing for the Atlanta Dream, Young's per game averages included 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 27.4 minutes a game.

On August 12, 2009, Young was traded to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Armintie Price.

As a player, she averaged 40.5% in field goal accuracy, 27% in three-point accuracy, and averaged 6.8 PPG. [6]

On February 1, 2018, Young signed a contract with the Las Vegas Aces. [7]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2008 Atlanta 331522.633.332.569.14.21.20.90.31.87.3
2009 Atlanta 1106.533.320.064.71.30.50.50.10.82.7
Chicago 10612.934.825.088.93.00.70.70.41.15.0
2010 Chicago 322218.636.227.768.43.11.60.80.21.56.8
2011 Chicago 331924.042.514.372.43.81.31.10.31.97.9
2012 Chicago 332424.442.30.060.63.71.41.00.21.48.2
2013 Chicago 33818.142.60.060.53.80.60.50.20.75.6
2014 Chicago 343327.643.80.055.65.11.20.70.10.86.7
2015 Chicago 191017.139.20.082.82.91.30.60.40.94.5
2016 Chicago 322025.845.00.079.04.51.40.80.11.18.5
2017 Chicago 242129.036.534.469.03.82.51.40.42.210.2
Atlanta 11115.532.233.361.52.30.70.30.50.74.5
2018 Las Vegas 332526.740.830.870.75.12.81.00.21.79.9
2019 Las Vegas 34418.538.031.363.93.62.00.70.11.45.3
Career12 years, 4 teams37220822.039.830.068.63.91.50.80.21.37.1

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
2013 Chicago 2016.540.00.075.01.51.01.00.00.03.5
2014 Chicago 9929.843.10.052.44.21.40.70.41.27.4
2015 Chicago 3212.725.00.00.03.01.70.30.31.71.3
2016 Chicago 5527.638.30.050.04.83.21.20.41.89.8
2019 Las Vegas 5212.457.10.050.01.22.40.20.20.65.0
Career5 years, 2 teams241822.542.10.054.53.32.00.70.31.26.3

Overseas career

During the 2008–09 off-season, following her rookie year in the WNBA, Young went to Latvia and played for Cesis. [8] [9] For the 2009–10 off-season Young went to Turkey and played for Pankup. In 2010, she signed with Basket Landes in France for the 2010–11 off-season. Young signed to play for Istanbul University in Turkey for the 2011–12 off-season. After the winter holidays she would sign with Maccabi Bnot Ashdod in Israel and go on to win the 2012 Israeli Cup and be named the MVP.

In the 2014 off-season, Young joined the Brazilian championship, being teammate to various Atlanta Dream players in América de Recife. [10]

Coaching career

On April 17, 2024, Young was hired as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky [11]

References

  1. "Inside the Sneaker Room of Tamera Young". August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  2. "Tamera Young – 2006-07 Women's Basketball" . Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  3. "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  4. Dream select Tamera Young with 8th pick
  5. "Tamera Young – WNBA stats" . Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  6. "Tamera Young stats". WNBA.com . Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  7. "Las Vegas Signs 10-Year Veteran Forward Tamera Young". WNBA.com. February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  8. DELFI (January 26, 2009). "Seilsu 'Cēsīs' nomainīs Tamera Janga". DELFI. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  9. "Euroleague Basketball, Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Standings – EUROBASKET". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  10. "Overseas Update 2014–15: Tamera Young". NBA.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
  11. "Chicago Sky Welcome Back Tamera "Ty" Young as Assistant Coach". sky.wnba.com. Retrieved January 19, 2025.