Aces’ Jackie Young takes game to another level in run to WNBA title | Aces

It’s always been a business-as-usual approach for the soft-spoken Jackie Young.

The Aces guard has always let her play do the talking. She’s never been one to talk back to opponents on the court. She has always spoken with challenging the other team’s best player defensively, or trusting her offense that has come a long way.

Make no mistake: The Aces start and finish with A’ja Wilson, the four-time WNBA MVP and two-time WNBA Finals MVP. The needle doesn’t move if Wilson isn’t the best player in the world.

But talk to Wilson, and any of her teammates, and they’ll all agree. The Aces aren’t celebrating their third title in four years and having another parade on the Strip on Friday if not for Young.

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.

“We talk about A’ja being the best player in the world and what she’s been able to do not just offensively but defensively,” point guard Chelsea Gray said. “I think there’s a lot more time to talk about Jackie Young as well and what she’s been able to do to transform the guard position. What she’s been able to do offensively and defensively, it’s been amazing.

“She’s made a name for herself in this league.”

Subtly loud

Young swears she never revved up her trash talk. The most she claims she’ll do is hype up her teammates. A subtle “come on!” or “let’s go!” normally suffices.

But if she says a few more words, it’s normally a sign of how far she’s come. To the point where Aces president Nikki Fargas called Young “the best all-around guard in the game.”

“I think just the time that I’ve put in. I’ve put in a lot of work to become the player that I am,” Young said. “Just having fun out there, playing with a lot of joy.”

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 — 32 points, 10 assists, zero turnovers.

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.

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.

“Three championships in four years says a lot in itself, but the resilience we showed throughout the year,” Young said. “It just shows a lot if you look back at our season.”

MVP?

During the team’s exit interviews this week, Gray was asked if she could elaborate on what the next gear looks like for Young.

“You can start having a conversation of her being in the MVP conversation,” she said. “You start talking about her on all-defensive teams, which I think she should’ve been in the conversation this year.”

Fargas agrees. She had Young in MVP discussions a couple of years ago at the start of the Aces’ dynasty.

“This young lady is tasked with defending the best perimeter player on the opposing team every single night,” Fargas said. “That’s not highlighted as if you were a leading scorer.”

Fargas added she can’t think of a more dominant 1-2 combination in the league than Young and Wilson.

“Who’s better?” she asked.

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.

“Jackie has a lot of leading and leader tendencies in her, but she may not know how to do it just yet,” Wilson said. “She gets it. She’s slowly starting to see it now, but I think that is what’s going to take her to the next step and also understanding that she’s on top of people’s scouting reports.”

Young embraces the challenge and loves being Wilson’s sidekick.

“(Wilson’s) the MVP. She’s the best player in the world,” Young said. “Just trying to stay up there with her. She’s the standard. … I’m 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.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.