In 2009, the Chicago Sky acquired Tamera Young from the Atlanta Dream following an impressive rookie season.

Young joined the Sky midway through August, starting six of her ten games played in the 2009 season. Her debut game with the sky was against the Minnesota Lynx on August 15. Young recorded two points, one block and one rebound in her first four minutes in the Sky uniform. She averaged 13 minutes, five points and three rebounds in her first ten games with Chicago.

In her first full season with the Sky, Young proved to be an important factor in the Sky’s success. She started in 22 of 32 games of the 2010 season averaging 6.8 points and 1.6 assists a game. She also stepped up her defensive game and averaged 3.1 rebounds. Young scored a season-high 15 points on July 1 against Connecticut, and on August 4 vs. the Sparks, she had her best performance of the season. Shooting 45 percent from the field, she scored 14 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.

The 2011 season was statistically Young’s best season with the Sky. Overall, she averaged 7.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Young performed well on the defensive end all season long. Against the Connecticut Sun on August 9, she grabbed 15 total rebounds, 11 of them being defensive. Later that month vs. the Washington Mystics on August 20, Young passed the 100 steal mark and set a new career high of seven steals.

Young saw her playing time increase into the 2012 season and was an important part to the Sky’s starting line up in 24 of 33 games. She averaged 24.4 minutes per game, which is the most she has played in any of her WNBA seasons. Young surpassed another milestone in this season and became the sixth Sky player to have 1,000 career points. Young finished the 2012 season with 1069 career points and averaged 8.2 points per game, which is her highest point average with the Sky. Like previous seasons, she averaged near four rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

Over the years, Young became an important leader on the Sky and took the veteran role to help guide the younger team. Her role became extremely important in the 2013 season, which was a historic one for Chicago as they achieved their first playoff appearance. Young came off the bench most of the season averaging 18 minutes per game. Her presence on the court was much appreciated by her teammates because she brought control and confidence. Young averaged 5.6 points per game and continued to grab 3.8 rebounds to help lead the Sky to their first playoff game and appearance.

For the first time in Young’s career, she started in all 34 games during Chicago’s 2014 season. Coming of a historic season for the Sky, Young was ready to dominate the floor in attempts for another playoff run. Early in the season, she recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds while playing New York on June 18. Once again defense was Young’s mind-set. Later in the season, she tied her season-high in rebounds grabbing another 12 vs. Washington on July 7. Young’s season-high 16 points fell on August 26 while the team played in Atlanta. Her defensive and scoring capability helped lead the Sky to another playoff run and WNBA finals appearance. Young finished the season averaging 6.7 points per game and tallied a total 136 defensive rebounds on the year.

After being sidelined for part of the first half of the season due to a thumb injury, Young is back in the lineup for the Sky. While recovering from injury, Young assisted Pokey Chatman on the bench, providing support for her teammates. Nevertheless, fans are excited to see her back in the game. She is currently averaging 5.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She is enjoying being back on the court with her team.

Young is now in her seventh season with the Sky, which is tied for most in franchise history. Her leadership, knowledge of the game, defensive presence, and scoring capabilities make her one of the best players in Sky history.