Tamera Young parlayed a successful prep career into a record-setting college resume before landing as a first-round draft pick in the WNBA.

Young grew up in the Port City and was an exceptional player at E.A. Laney High School. She was a three-time All-Conference pick from 2002-04 and was Mideastern Conference Player-of-the-Year in 2003 and 2004. A McDonald’s All-American nominee, Young scored 1,518 points and snared 791 rebounds with the Bucs, who retired her No. 11 jersey.

Young took her talents to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and made a major impact on the program at James Madison University. She led the Coastal Athletic Association in scoring and rebounding and earned First-Team and Player-of-the-Year honors in the league in 2008. Young averaged 20.4 points and 10.4 rebounds during her senior season, breaking or tying five school records. Overall, she made 127 career appearances for the Dukes, scoring 2,121 points with 112 double-figure scoring outings. She finished her JMU career first in scoring average, steals, games started, double digit scoring games and consecutive double-digit scoring contests.

Young was the eighth overall pick by the Atlanta Dream in the 2008 WNBA draft. She played one season in Georgia before sparking the Chicago Sky to three Eastern Conference semifinals and the WNBA Finals in 2014. Young wrapped up her WNBA stint with the Las Vegas Aces in 2018 and 2019. In 2024, she served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky.

Young’s playing career wasn’t over, however. Her professional career featured stops in Israel, China, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Turkey, France and Latvia.