The 2017-18 NBA season was one that will be long remembered by Pacer fans. Not only did they exceed all expectations, they played together as a team and did not make any moves at the trade deadline just to keep the team in tact. One of the biggest voices behind that was Thaddeus Young. He, among others, pleaded that Kevin Pritchard not trade anybody because they wanted to “see this thing through”.
It has been reported by Adrian Wojnarowski that Young is seriously considering turning down his player option to enter free agency this summer. Although, no confirmation has came from him or his camp that this is what he intends to do. Obviously, the organization would love to have his presence and energy back in blue and gold for the 2018-19 season.
Thad was undoubtedly the leader in the locker room while Victor Oladipo was the leader on the court. Many consider Young as one of the most valuable pieces on the team in terms of chemistry. Last season he averaged 11.3 PPG and 7.7 RPG, but Young does not necessarily care about the stats that show up in the box score. He is a hustle guy. The team comes first and personal accomplishments come second.
Digging into some hustle type stats, Thad was 3rd amongst power forwards in steals with 1.7 per contest while adding in 3.9 deflections, good for 6th overall, and was 3rd overall in contested three-pointers at 5.4 per game. Those type of plays do not necessarily show up on SportsCenter, but they make a tremendous impact on the game.
It is not always easy to find a guy who is willing to do all of the little things that Young does without receiving high praise. He is one of the cornerstones on the defensive end, essentially making sure all of the dirty work has been completed. On offense, he may not look to score or have set plays ran for him, but he is there to clean up on the glass and get a quick put back in crunch time.
In my mind, Thad makes plays that win games but may not show up on your typical box score or game highlight. But, here are some highlights from Thad’s 2017-18 season that may show you some of him value to this organization. Video
If Young does decide to leave, that will take a toll on the overall success that Indiana has as a team next year. He may not be the meat and potatoes of this team but he is definitely the stove that keeps everything running smoothly. Actually, you can follow Thad on twitter @yungsmoove21. (See what I did there?)
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