James Young (basketball)

James Young
James Young
Born	James Calvin Young; August 16, 1995 (age 31); Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2013–present

James Calvin Young (born August 16, 1995) is an American professional basketball athlete who most recently competed for the Ipswich Force in the NBL1 North. He spent one season playing college basketball with the Kentucky Wildcats before being chosen 17th overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. During his rookie NBA campaign, Young primarily played in the NBA Development League with Boston’s affiliate team, the Maine Red Claws. In the 2019–20 season, he led the Israel Basketball Premier League in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per contest.

High school career

Young attended both Troy High School in Troy, Michigan and Rochester High School located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. As a junior at Troy during the 2011–12 season, he posted averages of 25.1 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game, securing first-team All-State recognition from several organizations.

On October 11, 2012, Young committed to play collegiate basketball at the University of Kentucky. In his senior year at Rochester (2012–13), he averaged 27.2 points, 16.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game and was named a McDonald's All-American.

Rated as a five-star prospect by ESPN.com, Young was ranked the No. 3 small forward and No. 8 overall player nationally in the class of 2013.

College career

During his freshman year at Kentucky in 2013–14, Young set a mark as the second-highest freshman in UK history with 82 three-pointers made. He earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice and was selected to the second-team All-SEC as well as SEC All-Freshman teams. Additionally, he was named to the Final Four NCAA All-Tournament squad. Over 40 games (starting in 39), he averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while playing an average of 32.4 minutes per game. Early that season, on November 19, he recorded a career-best 26 points including five three-pointers during a decisive 105–76 victory over UT Arlington.

Young declared for the NBA draft on April 17, 2014, opting to leave college early and forgo his remaining three years of eligibility.

2014–15 season

Young was selected with the 17th pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics on June 26, 2014, and officially signed his rookie contract on July 10. Due to injuries, he missed participation in summer league activities, much of training camp, and several early-season games. As a result, he divided his time between Boston and their NBA Development League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, receiving eleven assignments throughout that season. Initially hesitant about playing in the D-League, Young eventually embraced it and even requested to be sent to Maine in December to gain more playing time.

One of Young’s standout performances for Boston occurred on January 5, 2015, when he scored a season-high of 13 points during a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Between January and early March under coach Brad Stevens, he averaged 3.8 points across 12.9 minutes per game. However, his minutes decreased significantly afterward; he appeared in only four additional games before sitting out all four playoff matchups against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In total for that season with the Red Claws, Young averaged impressive numbers: 20.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game over 19 contests.

2015–16 season

In July 2015, Young participated in the 2015 NBA Summer League with the Celtics, where he posted averages of 9.4 points and 3.4 rebounds across five contests, though his shooting percentages were limited to 27.1% from the field and 22.7% from beyond the arc. During the preseason, he logged the fewest minutes among players who eventually made the final 2015–16 roster. Nevertheless, on October 30, the Celtics exercised their option to extend Young's rookie contract into a third year, covering the 2016–17 season. Early on, Young was assigned multiple times to the Red Claws before making his Celtics debut on November 10, appearing briefly in a victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. Between November 24 and December 3, he played in three games for Boston while also receiving several additional assignments to Maine. Following an injury to Avery Bradley, Young was kept as a backup for a December 5 game versus the San Antonio Spurs but did not see playing time. Subsequently, he featured in seven of eight consecutive contests, averaging 14.3 minutes per appearance. In 2016, Young had seven more stints with the Red Claws and took part in three of Boston’s six playoff games against the Atlanta Hawks.

During the 2015–16 season, Young appeared in 16 games for the Red Claws, averaging 14.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and one steal per contest.

2016–17 season

Young returned to compete with the Celtics in the 2016 NBA Summer League in July 2016, recording averages of 7.5 points and 2.8 rebounds over six games. He secured a position on Boston’s roster for the 2016–17 season on October 24, 2016. On November 12, he achieved a season-best scoring output of 12 points during a 105–99 win against the Indiana Pacers. Throughout that regular season, Young participated in 29 games without any assignments to affiliate teams.

2017 off-season

After becoming a free agent in July 2017, Young joined the New Orleans Pelicans for the 2017 NBA Summer League. He later signed a training camp contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on September 6 but was released on October 5.

Wisconsin Herd (2017–2018)

Young was added to the inaugural training camp roster of the Wisconsin Herd, Milwaukee’s G League affiliate, on October 22, 2017, subsequently earning a place on their opening-night squad.

Philadelphia 76ers (2018)

On January 5, 2018, Young inked a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, splitting his time between Philadelphia and their G League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers. The Sixers waived him on March 26, 2018.

Second stint with Wisconsin Herd (2018–2019)

Young re-signed with the Wisconsin Herd in October 2018 but was waived by the team on January 18, 2019.

Maccabi Haifa (2019–2020)

On August 8, 2019, Young committed to a one-year contract with Maccabi Haifa competing in the Israeli Premier League. He delivered a career-high performance on November 14, scoring 32 points alongside five rebounds and three assists to guide Haifa to a 95–83 victory over Hapoel Gilboa Galil. On December 22, he equaled that scoring mark again by putting up another 32 points while shooting an efficient 7-of-11 from three-point range; he also contributed eight rebounds and three steals in a dominant 92–60 win against Hapoel Holon. Over the season, Young averaged impressive numbers: 20.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He finished as the leading scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League during the 2019–20 campaign with an average of 20.5 points per game.

Westchester Knicks (2020–2021)

On December 14, 2020, Young inked a deal with the New York Knicks, but was released prior to the season's commencement and subsequently allocated to their G League team, the Westchester Knicks.

Hapoel Tel Aviv (2021–2022)

Young secured a contract with Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League on March 8, 2021.

Kolossos Rodou (2023)

On January 12, 2023, Young signed with the Greek squad Kolossos Rodou to complete the season. Over 10 league appearances, he posted averages of 9.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in nearly 16 minutes per contest.

Universo Treviso Basket (2023–2024)

Young joined Treviso Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A on July 22, 2023.

Ipswich Force (2025)

On April 14, 2025, Young was confirmed as part of the Ipswich Force roster for the upcoming 2025 NBL1 North campaign.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 31 || 0 || 10.7 || .353 || .258 || .552 || 1.4 || .4 || .3 || .1 || 3.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 29 || 0 || 6.9 || .306 || .231 || .250 || .9 || .3 || .2 || .0 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 29 || 0 || 7.6 || .431 || .343 || .667 || .9 || .1 || .3 || .1 || 2.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 6 || 0 || 10.2 || .357 || .300 || .667 || .3 || .3 || .0 || .0 || 2.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 95 || 0 || 8.5 || .367 || .277 || .563 || 1.0 || .3 || .3 || .1 || 2.3

Playoffs

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2016 | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 3 || 0 || 3.5 || .333 || .000 || –|| .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2017 | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 10 || 0 || 3.9 || .333 || .357 || –|| .7 || .3 || .0 || .0 || 1.5 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 13 || 0 || 3.8 || .333 || .333 || –|| .5 || .2 || .0 || .0 || 1.3

College

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2013–14 | style="text-align:left;"|Kentucky | 40||39||32.4||.407||.349||.706||4.3||1.7||.8||.2||14.3

External links