The silent brilliance of Thaddeus Young

After two fantastic games, it’s time to appreciate the subtle brilliance of Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young.

Thaddeus Young called “game”.  After a beautiful dish from Victor Oladipo, Young banked another off the glass with 1:03 to go Friday night against the 76ers, giving the Indiana Pacers a healthy 110-99 lead.

This was a night that the Pacers struggled to find a rhythm offensively early, but Young was steady, reliable, and never frustrated. He finished with a 26/10/5 line.  Thanks in no small part to Young’s effort, the Pacers are 19-10 and knocking on the door of second-place in the Eastern Conference.

Throughout his time as a Pacer, Young has been every bit of the “glue guy” that was advertised when he was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2016.  His consistency is unmatched by any other player on the roster.  In fact, his scoring as a Pacer has ranged from as low as 11 points to as high as 11.8 points per game.  His rebounding has ranged from 5.7-6.3 and steals 1.5-1.7 per game.  A modern-day iron man, Young has never played less than 63 games in a season since he broke into the league in 2007.

Young has been consistent since his high school ball days at Mitchell High School in Memphis.  He was Mr. Basketball and ended up giving his alma mater a brand new weight room.  They would return the favor by retiring his number. He spent one year at Georgia Tech averaging 14.4 points, about five rebounds and 1.3 steals (a very Thaddeus Young stat line).

He was then drafted by the 76ers where he spent his first seven seasons.  He took on many roles in that time, going from starter to the bench, and back to a starter.  In those seven years, he only averaged under ten points just once, his rookie season.  Teaming up with the likes of Jrue Holiday, among others, Young’s reputation as a man that means business grew across the league.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets took short flyers on Young’s services before he was traded to the Indiana Pacers.  At the time, the Pacers were trying to bolster a roster around Paul George after the end of the David West era.  This was the same summer where Al Jefferson joined the party.  After a disappointing season, we all know the story of George being traded.  Young remains one of the few bright spots in a Pacers transitional period defined by mediocrity.  His relentless spirit and tenacity ushered in a brand new brand of Pacers basketball.

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Granted, Thad Young won’t wow us with a high-flying, globetrotting antics.  However, he provides a calming, veteran presence to a high-octane and young offense.  On nights like the 76ers game, he is vital to the success of the team.  Defensively, Young dominated Giannis Antetokounmpo and held him to a season-low 12 points in Wednesday’s game against the Bucks.

And yet, he has such a quiet demeanor and is often soft-spoken.  The silent brilliance of Thaddeus Young has followed him since his days in high school.  He has often been called for the toughest defensive assignments including the aforementioned Giannis, LeBron James, among many more.  He currently is 94th on the All-Time steals list (1.7 per game and 1235 total), just before the likes of Kobe Bryant.  He swarms, he steals, he blocks, and he scraps every single play.

Thad Young is a born leader.  After LeBron James hit the game-winning shot in the playoffs last season, Young was the first to take the blame on a play that I’m not sure anyone could have defended.  We’ve seen this year when the team was on the ropes, he provided a strike of passion to the huddle.

With his contract up at the end of this season, it’s hard not to think about his future.  Young has expressed interest in staying with the Pacers long-term, but the Pacers seemed hesitant on extending him long term.  He is currently 30 years old and has a lot of miles on him.  With that being said, he has stayed relatively healthy and is obviously still very effective on both ends of the ball.  I tweeted during Friday night’s game with my plea for the Pacers to retain Young beyond 2019.  The Indiana Pacers have a lot of questions to answer this off-season, but I believe those conversations start with the heart and soul of this team.  He’s not the only one, but Thad Young is a central piece of that pulse.

Pacers, get the man his contract.