Jackie Young adds surprising lift as US women's basketball tops Nigeria to reach Olympic semifinals

PARIS — Jackie Young loves to lift. 

In the offseason, the 26-year-old guard of Team USA's women's basketball team lives in the weight room, adding as much muscle to her 6-foot frame as possible. This is necessary for the bully ball Young likes to play, when she uses her strength to body up guards she’s defending and finish in the lane through contact.

“It feels like a dude guarding you, you can’t really move, you can never get any momentum,” explained WNBA and U.S. teammate Kelsey Plum. "We call her ‘Baby LeBron,’ that’s the best comparison for how physically strong she is."

Plum likes to fancy herself a strong guard, too. But even she was impressed when she walked into the weight room one day and saw Young squatting more than 300 pounds. Like Young said, she loves to lift.

Wednesday night, in her first start at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Young lifted Team USA, scoring 15 points as the Americans beat Nigeria 88-74 in the quarterfinals. The U.S. now advances to play Australia in the semifinals Friday. Germany plays France in the other semifinal.

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The winners will meet in Sunday’s championship game, where the Americans are seeking their eighth consecutive gold medal. 

A three-time All-Star and former No. 1 overall pick (in 2019), Young got the start Wednesday over veteran Diana Taurasi, who had started in each of the Americans’ pool play games. Coach Cheryl Reeve said she started Young “for everything,” though there’s no question she was tapped mostly for her defense. 

In the WNBA, Young typically draws the assignment of defending the other team’s best guard, a nod to her athleticism, high basketball IQ and yes, strength. She feeds off her defense, a silent assassin — she’s famously quiet on the court — who grabs steals and creates turnovers. No one likes guarding her or being guarded by her. 

“That’s definitely my role, getting stops, being aggressive on defense … that gets you feeling it, and then you get going (on offense),” said Young, who won a 3x3 gold medal three years ago in Tokyo.

TOUGH ROAD: Nigeria shows Olympics no longer cakewalk for US women

Wednesday night she was again asked to slow the other team’s best player, matching up against Ezinne Kalu, the Nigerian guard who came into the medal round averaging 18.5 points and shooting 47.8% from the field. As usual, Young leaned on her hard-earned muscle to get the job done. She pestered Kalu, who finished with 16 but had to work harder than usual to get those points.

“It works to my advantage, being able to get up on the defensive end and pressure, be physical, get through screens, if I get switched onto a big being able to fight around,” Young said. “I try to use my strength … it helps me defend at a high level, score at a high level.” 

But the unexpected contribution came with Young’s scoring. She had two quick baskets midway through the first, helping the Americans hang on to a lead as Nigeria stayed close. She grabbed rebounds that led to transition baskets, scored on short jumpers and drew fouls.

“She’s terrific, she gets to the spaces she wants to get to, she’s persistent, plays the schemes, great help defender, great rotator, great rebounder,” Reeve said. “She does a lot of things well.”

Young wasn’t the only reason Team USA won, of course. Holding Nigeria to 24% from the 3-point line and winning the battle of the boards 44-28 helped. A’ja Wilson’s 20 points and 11 rebounds, plus contributions from Breanna Stewart (13 points) and Brittney Griner (11) played a role, too. 

But Reeve has said numerous times that the American women’s basketball dynasty has been defined by its depth, a nod to the tremendous talent in spots 1-12 on this, and past (and future) rosters. And Wednesday night, Young was merely the latest person to show it off. 

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

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