After a rocky and even questioned start to his time with the Warriors in which he showed up to training camp out of shape, Nick Young is figuring out his role in Golden State and his success on the court is winning the favor of Dub Nation, specifically Marcus Thompson.
“He was defending. He was moving the ball. This is not the Nick Young that played with Gilbert Arenas. This isn’t the Nick Young that is mean on social media,” Thompson said on Gary & Larry Thursday afternoon. “That dude has infiltrated himself into Steve Kerr’s rotation much faster than many people thought.”
When Young signed with the Warriors last offseason, his career set sail into uncharted waters. After playing on losing teams for nearly his entire career, Young had to adjust to Golden State’s increased standard of play. Not to mention, with Golden State’s solidified core of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson, Young’s role with the Warriors was something he needed to earn, not be handed.
“Remember he was just out of shape like a month ago?” Thompson said. “Now, he’ll get his three shots, maybe four, and he’s fine. The Warriors will let him take one wild one. He gets that one Swaggy P shot where it’s probably ill-advised, but they give him one and he’s buying in on defense and moving the ball.”
Although he only put up 10 points with one steal and a rebound in 20 minutes against the Hornets, Thompson and Larry agreed that was Young’s best game as a Warrior. The Warriors were +16 with Young on the court and his defensive enthusiasm was hard to miss.
“It’s hard because Draymond recruited him, Kevin Durant recruited him,” Thompson said. “You can’t be the one not to buy in. When you have these four guys who are willing to sacrifice and do all of the dirty work, you can’t be the one guy not to do it. I think, even the luster of Swaggy P and all his aura has said, ‘you guys are right. I’m going to buy in and play defense.’ That’s what you got to do when everybody else is doing it.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 6:20 for Thompson on Young.