It\u2019s always been a business-as-usual approach for the soft-spoken Jackie Young.<\/p>\n
The Aces guard has always let her play do the talking. She\u2019s never been one to talk back to opponents on the court. She has always spoken with challenging the other team\u2019s best player defensively, or trusting her offense that has come a long way.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake: The Aces start and finish with A\u2019ja Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP and two-time WNBA Finals MVP. The needle doesn\u2019t move if Wilson isn\u2019t the best player in the world.<\/p>\n
But talk to Wilson, and any of her teammates, and they\u2019ll all agree. The Aces aren\u2019t celebrating their third title in four years<\/a> and having another parade on the Strip<\/a> on Friday if not for Young.<\/p>\n Young was named second-team All-WNBA for the second time in her career this season after averaging 16.5 points and 5.1 assists in 30 minutes a game in the regular season. She then took her game to new heights in the playoffs, averaging 20.4 points and 5.5 assists while shooting 49 percent from the field.<\/p>\n \u201cWe talk about A\u2019ja being the best player in the world and what she\u2019s been able to do not just offensively but defensively,\u201d point guard Chelsea Gray said. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot more time to talk about Jackie Young as well and what she\u2019s been able to do to transform the guard position. What she\u2019s been able to do offensively and defensively, it\u2019s been amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s made a name for herself in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n Subtly loud<\/p>\n Young swears she never revved up her trash talk. The most she claims she\u2019ll do is hype up her teammates. A subtle \u201ccome on!\u201d or \u201clet\u2019s go!\u201d normally suffices.<\/p>\n But if she says a few more words, it\u2019s normally a sign of how far she\u2019s come. To the point where Aces president Nikki Fargas called Young \u201cthe best all-around guard in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think just the time that I\u2019ve put in. I\u2019ve put in a lot of work to become the player that I am,\u201d Young said. \u201cJust having fun out there, playing with a lot of joy.\u201d<\/p>\n Young was pleased with her decision-making this season. She took on more responsibility with the ball in her hands. She had five games in the playoffs with at least seven assists. Her hallmark game came in the decisive Game 5 of the semifinals against the Indiana Fever \u2014 32 points, 10 assists, zero turnovers.<\/p>\n Two more of those games came in the WNBA Finals against the Phoenix Mercury. In the championship-clinching Game 4, she shot only 5 of 14 from the field, but hit 7 of 8 from the free-throw line and finished with 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.<\/p>\n Resilience was the buzz word for the Aces, who went from 14-14 to winning 16 straight regular-season games and going 9-3 in the playoffs. Young, though maybe silent, was at the forefront of that.<\/p>\n \u201cThree championships in four years says a lot in itself, but the resilience we showed throughout the year,\u201d Young said. \u201cIt just shows a lot if you look back at our season.\u201d<\/p>\n MVP?<\/p>\n During the team\u2019s exit interviews this week, Gray was asked if she could elaborate on what the next gear looks like for Young.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can start having a conversation of her being in the MVP conversation,\u201d she said. \u201cYou start talking about her on all-defensive teams, which I think she should\u2019ve been in the conversation this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Fargas agrees. She had Young in MVP discussions a couple of years ago at the start of the Aces\u2019 dynasty.<\/p>\n \u201cThis young lady is tasked with defending the best perimeter player on the opposing team every single night,\u201d Fargas said. \u201cThat\u2019s not highlighted as if you were a leading scorer.\u201d<\/p>\n Fargas added she can\u2019t think of a more dominant 1-2 combination in the league than Young and Wilson.<\/p>\n \u201cWho\u2019s better?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Wilson said the next step for Young is to be able to lead in her own way. That starts with Young understanding that her voice matters in huddles and in the locker room.<\/p>\n \u201cJackie has a lot of leading and leader tendencies in her, but she may not know how to do it just yet,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cShe gets it. She\u2019s slowly starting to see it now, but I think that is what\u2019s going to take her to the next step and also understanding that she\u2019s on top of people\u2019s scouting reports.\u201d<\/p>\n Young embraces the challenge and loves being Wilson\u2019s sidekick.<\/p>\n \u201c(Wilson\u2019s) the MVP. She\u2019s the best player in the world,\u201d Young said. \u201cJust trying to stay up there with her. She\u2019s the standard. \u2026 I\u2019m just trying to put a lot of work in the offseason to become the best player I can be. Playing with the best player in the world is special.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com.<\/a> Follow @DannyWebster21<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s always been a business-as-usual approach for the soft-spoken Jackie Young. 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