Indiana Pacers guard Joe Young has languished on the end of the bench for most of the past three years, but his persistence and hard work is beginning to pay off.
When Indiana Pacers guard Joe Young was at Oregon, he was a scorer who was so potent that he earned the nickname “Joey Buckets.” Young averaged 20.7 points per game as a senior, taking home Player of the Year honors in the Pac-12 that season.
Despite his success at the college level, Young was not seen as a great pro prospect — shooting guards who are 6’2″ and 185 pounds generally aren’t. But the Pacers thought enough of his talent to draft him with the 43rd overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Like most second round picks, Joe Young has had to work hard just to get on the floor. In fact, he’s spent most of the last two years watching from the end of the bench, waiting for his opportunity to come.
Head coach Nate McMillan has recently given Young an opportunity to be part of the rotation, albeit in a small role. This is really the first time in Young’s NBA career that he has been more than a “garbage time” player, and the results have been good thus far.
During a recent eight-game stretch, Joe Young posted an average of 8.1 points per game, shooting 50 percent from behind the 3-point line and 54.8 percent overall. These aren’t exactly All-Star numbers, but for Joe Young, they are significant.
After putting in a lot of extra work in the gym over the last couple years, Young is beginning to look and play like someone who truly belongs. You can see his confidence growing and his comfort level increasing as he continues to get steady backup minutes.
The timing is also very good for Young because he is in the final guaranteed year of his deal with Indiana. Once the current season is complete, there is a team option for 2018-19 that would pay him $1.6 million if the Pacers decide to pick it up.
Interestingly, Young’s father, Michael, was a more heralded basketball player than his son coming out of college, but he was not able to remain in the league long. Michael Young was a top scorer for the Houston Cougars “Phi Slama Jama” teams of the early 1980s and was a first round pick in 1984.
However, Michael Young’s NBA career never got off the ground, playing in just 49 total games over parts of three seasons for three different teams. Now, his son is fighting a similar battle to establish himself as a viable NBA player.
Not long ago, Joe Young’s return to Indiana for a fourth season appeared questionable at best. However, he has put in the necessary work to improve, and he’s playing the best basketball of his NBA career at a time when the team is evaluating his future potential.
Next: 2017-18 Week 15 NBA Power Rankings
After biding his time for more than two seasons, Joe Young finally got his shot at some regular rotation minutes with the Pacers, and he’s making the most of it so far. If he can maintain this level of play for the remainder of the year, Young has a great shot at another season in the league, and perhaps a second NBA contract will follow.