Nick Young said he's going to slowly break in his three point celebrations throughout the season pic.twitter.com/gczdCh7NRk
— KNBR (@KNBR) October 14, 2017
OAKLAND–In his first start in a Golden State Warriors’ uniform, Nick Young made five three-pointers.
It was exactly the type of performance Young was gunning for after a slow start to the preseason, and after Friday night, it appears as though his shooting stroke is ready for regular season action.
His celebrations, though? Young knows they were a bit weak on Friday.
“They’ll get better as the time goes, I’ve got to break them in slowly,” Young said. “It’s only preseason, I’m only giving a little glimpse in the preseason.”
Young drew praise from Golden State head coach Steve Kerr after Friday’s effort, as he finished with 15 points, three shy of Steph Curry’s team-high 18. Young did finish with a team-best plus-13 in his 30 minutes of action, and Kerr said Young has looked increasingly at ease as the preseason has unfolded.
“He looked more like himself,” Kerr said. “He knocked down a bunch of threes and just looked more comfortable. There were still times where he was not sure quite where to go. He’s still learning the offense and learning our plays and that was very encouraging. We know what a great shooter he is and I wasn’t exactly worried that he was not shooting well early in camp. That frequently happens with guys, especially on a new team. But yeah, Nick is going to help us this year and tonight was a good step for him.”
Young earned a start on Friday night after Draymond Green, Kevin Durant and Andre Igoudala were all held out of action, and he admitted the opportunity felt a bit odd. After spending the vast majority of his career on teams destined to finish in the lottery, Young was starting alongside NBA champions.
“It felt weird, you know?” Young said. “Because I’m not used to being out there with guys that are superstars. I was like damn, I’m starting on this with Curry and Thompson, with the champs. So it felt good.”
Young actually knocked down as many threes on Friday as Curry and Thompson combined for, and he said that if he knocks down some shots on Tuesday, fans can expect a “swaggy” celebration.
“You’ll see it Tuesday,” Young promised.