Getty Nick Young with Larry Nance Jr.
There was a time when Nick Young was one of the most dependable 3-point shooters in the NBA. He was even part of the 2018 Golden State Warriors teams that won a championship. Despite that, he hasn’t been able to find a team to take him on over the last two seasons. He even tried to get his former team the Los Angeles Lakers to take a chance on him before last year’s bubble.
After a long process, Young is moving on from the NBA. According to the rapper Ice Cube, the veteran guard will be joining the BIG3 to play with the Enemies.
This season is gonna be crazy 👀
@thebig3 #Bringthefire ☄️☄️☄️
The BIG3 is a three-on-three basketball league co-founded by Ice Cube. The league has been a good landing spot for former players who are past their NBA days. Players like Nate Robinson, Greg Oden and Amar’e Stoudemire have all played in the league. Considering Young always had one of the more flashy personalities in the NBA, he should be right at home in the BIG3.
“I’m the new captain of the Enemies,” Young said in a press release from the BIG3. “Imma bring my dog Gil mad more cream,” referring to Enemies coach Gilbert Arenas.
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Are Young’s NBA Playing Days Over?
Young’s move to the BIG3 pretty much signals that he’s done in the NBA. At 35 years old, he only has so many years left as an athlete. The BIG3 will be a good opportunity for him to play some more basketball before he decides to retire.
Young was always a big character while he was in the NBA. “Swaggy P” likely caused teams a few headaches. One of the most notable moments of his career was the beef he had with D’Angelo Russell when they were both with the Lakers. Russell decided to post a video online of Young essentially admitting he was cheating on his then-fiance Iggy Azalea. That whole issue caused the young Lakers team to fall apart and things only got worse from there until LeBron James came and saved the team. Though there was some chatter of Young coming back to Los Angeles last season, it never materialized.
Young Recently Had Beef With New Coach
One of the more interesting things about Young going to the BIG3 is who his coach will be. As Ice Cube pointed out in his tweet, former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas will be coaching the guard on the Enemies. Arenas has a great mind for basketball, but he has a history with Young.
The two men played together on the Washington Wizards for three seasons and they were quite close. However, Arenas admitted regret for taking on a leadership role with Young in a Reddit Q&A.
“the worst thing…making him my rookie. i think if he wasn’t my rookie he would he would have better career. making him my rookie was the worst thing. and he deserved each and every bit of it,” Young wrote.
The two had a bit of a spat in late 2020, with both men taking shots at each other online.
It will certainly be fun to see these two work things out in the BIG3.
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Ex-Lakers Starter Lands With BIG3 Team After 2 Years Away From NBA