Raptors Shocked by Thad Young's Hops: 'He’s Thad Young Legs Now'

The Toronto Raptors couldn't believe the 33-year-old Thad Young can still dunk the way he showed in Wednesday's victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves

Aaron Rose | Mar 31, 2022

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

The smart play for Thad Young would have been to dump the ball off to Pascal Siakam and let the spry 27-year-old go up for the dunk midway through the fourth quarter on Wednesday night.

At 33 years old, Young is certainly on the back nine of his career. He's more of a savvy veteran now than a showstopping, highly-flying, athletic beast. And yet, the Toronto Raptors forward had no interest in making the extra pass.

"I was trying to get the ball from him and he was saying ‘screw Pascal, I’m just gonna jump off a trampoline and dunk this thing,'" Siakam joked.

Young spun around an over-aggressive Naz Reid, took two dribbles to the hoop, and took off, to throw down his biggest one-handed slam of the season.

"We was all turnt up, excited for Thad, how he got up, he's been looking kind of bouncy last few games, finish around the rim off too," Gary Trent Jr. said.

"They said he’s Thad Young legs now," Raptors coach Nick Nurse joked. "It’s good. I enjoyed that one. It was a surprise to me."

While that play might not be the best example of Young's high-IQ basketball, he's been a stud off the bench for Toronto lately. He shot 4-for-6 on Wednesday night for 10 points after a game-changing 12-point performance against the Boston Celtics on Monday. Those offensive numbers have come with lockdown, versatile defense at the other end, and important leadership off the court.

"He’s great for us, he brings us a certain leadership, old head, vet that’s been around the league for a while now, knows the ropes, been in countless, countless situations whether it’s been in regular season or playoffs," Trent said. "He’s always helping us and telling us what to do in this situation or how we should handle this situation, so, to have him on our team and getting back to himself after not playing all year, hopefully, it clicks with everybody at the perfect time headed to this playoff run."

Further Reading