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Lakers News: Former Laker Fan Favorite Back Playing Professional Basketball

Laker fans can still watch their favorite scorer play.

Noah Camras

In this story:

There were very few players who had more fun on a basketball court than Nick Young. There may not have even been one.

Nick Young, also known as "Swaggy P," entertained NBA fans for 12 seasons — and Laker fans were lucky enough to get him for four.

Over the last few seasons, he's hinted at an NBA comeback, but to no avail. He played a little in the Big3 — and even tried boxing — but will now be going back to five-on-five basketball, this time in the Philippines.

Lance Agcaoili of the Inquirer reported that Young is joining the PBA in January, a few weeks after he tweeted out his interest in playing in the league.

Young will be joining the Strong Group Reality team, led by head coach Charles Tiu. Tiu shared his excitement and expectations for Swaggy P.

"We are hoping that he can still have his NBA form somehow," Tiu said. "We expect him to score a lot for us, that’s why we got him."

Scoring is definitely what Young was known for in his NBA career. He never met a shot he didn't like, and was as fun to watch as anyone when he got hot.

In his NBA career, Young averaged 11.4 points per game on 41.8% shooting. With the Lakers, he averaged 13.1 points per game on 41/38/85 shooting splits. The USC product was a one-time NBA champion with the Warriors in 2018, and also played for the Wizards, Clippers, 76ers and Nuggets in his NBA career.

Now 37-years-old, Young will be participating in the upcoming Dubai International Basketball Championship for his squad. The tournament begins on January 27 and goes until February 5.

The rest of the Strong Group squad is expected to be announced on Thursday, but with Young on board, they should have a good chance to compete — or at the very least, score a lot of points.

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Noah Camras
NOAH CAMRAS

Noah graduated from USC in 2022 with a B.A. in Journalism and a minor in Sports Media Studies. He is the lead editor for All Lakers. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, and grew up a fan of all LA sports. 

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