Tamera Young
American basketball player and coach (born 1986)
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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.
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(Wilmington, North Carolina)
Young with Las Vegas in 2018 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 30, 1986 |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Emsley A. Laney (Wilmington, North Carolina) |
| College | James Madison (2004–2008) |
| WNBA draft | 2008: 1st round, 8th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Atlanta Dream |
| Playing career | 2008–present |
| Position | Assistant coach |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 2008–2009 | Atlanta Dream |
| 2009–2017 | Chicago Sky |
| 2016–2017 | Shanxi Flame |
| 2017 | Atlanta Dream |
| 2018–2019 | Las Vegas Aces |
Coaching | |
| 2024 | Chicago Sky (assistant) |
| Career highlights | |
| Stats at WNBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
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]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | James Madison | 29 | 399 | 42.1 | 32.4 | 63.8 | 7.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 13.8 |
| 2005–06 | James Madison | 31 | 485 | 39.3 | 29.2 | 65.5 | 9.9 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 15.6 |
| 2006–07 | James Madison | 33 | 544 | 40.2 | 33.3 | 74.7 | 8.0 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 16.5 |
| 2007–08 | James Madison | 34 | 693 | 41.0 | 19.7 | 65.2 | 10.4 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 20.4 |
| Career | James Madison | 127 | 2121 | 40.6 | 29.7 | 67.1 | 8.9 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 16.7 |
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
| 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Atlanta | 33 | 15 | 22.6 | 33.3 | 32.5 | 69.1 | 4.2 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 7.3 |
| 2009 | Atlanta | 11 | 0 | 6.5 | 33.3 | 20.0 | 64.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2.7 |
| Chicago | 10 | 6 | 12.9 | 34.8 | 25.0 | 88.9 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 5.0 | |
| 2010 | Chicago | 32 | 22 | 18.6 | 36.2 | 27.7 | 68.4 | 3.1 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 6.8 |
| 2011 | Chicago | 33 | 19 | 24.0 | 42.5 | 14.3 | 72.4 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 7.9 |
| 2012 | Chicago | 33 | 24 | 24.4 | 42.3 | 0.0 | 60.6 | 3.7 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 8.2 |
| 2013 | Chicago | 33 | 8 | 18.1 | 42.6 | 0.0 | 60.5 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 5.6 |
| 2014 | Chicago | 34 | 33 | 27.6 | 43.8 | 0.0 | 55.6 | 5.1 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 6.7 |
| 2015 | Chicago | 19 | 10 | 17.1 | 39.2 | 0.0 | 82.8 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 4.5 |
| 2016 | Chicago | 32 | 20 | 25.8 | 45.0 | 0.0 | 79.0 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 8.5 |
| 2017 | Chicago | 24 | 21 | 29.0 | 36.5 | 34.4 | 69.0 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 10.2 |
| Atlanta | 11 | 1 | 15.5 | 32.2 | 33.3 | 61.5 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 4.5 | |
| 2018 | Las Vegas | 33 | 25 | 26.7 | 40.8 | 30.8 | 70.7 | 5.1 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 9.9 |
| 2019 | Las Vegas | 34 | 4 | 18.5 | 38.0 | 31.3 | 63.9 | 3.6 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 5.3 |
| Career | 12 years, 4 teams | 372 | 208 | 22.0 | 39.8 | 30.0 | 68.6 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 7.1 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Chicago | 2 | 0 | 16.5 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 75.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 |
| 2014 | Chicago | 9 | 9 | 29.8 | 43.1 | 0.0 | 52.4 | 4.2 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 7.4 |
| 2015 | Chicago | 3 | 2 | 12.7 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 1.3 |
| 2016 | Chicago | 5 | 5 | 27.6 | 38.3 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 4.8 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 9.8 |
| 2019 | Las Vegas | 5 | 2 | 12.4 | 57.1 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 5.0 |
| Career | 5 years, 2 teams | 24 | 18 | 22.5 | 42.1 | 0.0 | 54.5 | 3.3 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 6.3 |
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]
