We have a lot of fun with Swaggy P here at Dime (mostly at his expense). Given his various on-and-off-court antics – whether he’s prematurely celebrating long-range shots, blowing ill-advised 360 layup attempts, or defending his girlfriend Iggy Azalea’s honor in the Twittersphere – it’s easy to write him off as something of a clown, but a new video over at SB Nation threatens to completely overhaul the image of the precocious L.A. native.
The 10-minute origin story clears up any confusion as to where Young gets his swag from, i.e. the SwagFather himself, aka Nick’s dad Charles Young. Despite being prone to outlandish claims (“There is no player in the NBA more serious about basketball than Nick Young.”), Charles, and other members of his family, offer a glimpse into his hardscrabble upbringing and the lengths the family had to go to keep Nick away from gangs (i.e. placating him with unlimited video games).
But by far the most heartbreaking part of Nick’s story is the murder of his older brother Charles Young Jr., who was shot and killed by rival gang members in 1991. It’s what makes his million-dollar smile and seemingly boundless positivity all the more astounding.
