Introduction
Tamera Young (born October 30, 1986) is an American basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Personal
Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, Tamera Young is the daughter of Greg Young and Lynda Nichols-Brown and John Brown. She has an older brother, A.J., and two older sisters, Nikia and Valerie. Her cousin, Willie Williams, was a cornerback for the National Football League Pittsburgh Steelers and a 13-year National Football League veteran (Steelers 1993-96, 2005; Seattle Seahawks 1997-2003). She attended the same high school, Emsley A. Laney High School, as basketball legend Michael Jordan.
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. As a senior, she led JMU to the third round of the 2008 WNIT, before ultimately losing to The University of Kentucky. She is most famously known for wearing pigtails during her games.
James Madison statistics
Source
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. In her first season with the Dream she 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 goals, 27 % in three-pointers, and made 6.8 PPG.
Overseas career
During the 2008-2009 off-season, following her rookie year in the WNBA, Young went to Latvia and played for Cesis. For the 2009-2010 Off-Season Young went to Turkey and played for Pankup. In 2010 she signed with Basket Landus in France for the 2010-2011 Off-Season. Young signed to play for Istanbul University in Turkey for the 2011-2012 off-season. After the winter holidays she would sign with Maccabi 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.