In a thrilling showdown for the final spot, Team USA is taking on Australia. While there are experienced stars like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart on the roster, it’s Jackie Young who has stepped up as the leader on the court for Team USA. The Las Vegas Aces guard has dazzled fans with her performance, scoring 8 points in the opening quarter and topping the points chart for the USA in this intense semifinal matchup.

The 26-year-old guard has mostly made an impact coming from the bench but this was her second start for her nation and she completely stood out in giving Team USA the early lead against the Aussies. Earlier, she also was named in the starting lineup in the quarter-finals against Nigeria and even then she was the second top-scorer for her side bagging 15 points. In fact, she even had a role in playmaking as she made 2 assists and 3 rebounds against D’Tigress.

However, Young’s top performance on the court is exactly what we’ve come to expect from her, especially given her standout WNBA season. Playing for the Las Vegas Aces, Young has been nothing short of spectacular, averaging a career-high 18.5 points per game. Even last year, she made a strong impression, finishing with 17.6 points per game. Her consistent excellence is clearly carrying over into her Olympic debut.

The fact that this is her Olympics debut, this rising star of Team USA has now averaged 11 points by clocking just 17.4 minutes every game. And with all that, fans are just in awe of the new star that have found in the form of Jackie Young. They can’t resist but just have admiration and words of praise for the Las Vegas Aces guard.

Fans have got nothing but love for Jackie Young

Being consistent is what not many can do. Well, Young just didn’t give a good start to Team USA in the semis but delivered a consistent show throughout, finishing the game once again as the second top-scorer with 14 points. It was just Breanna Stewart who got more points, that also by a difference of two. That cracking start has now already earned Young a sweet spot in Americans’ hearts as a user tweeted on X, “Jackie Young is America’s Sweetheart btw”.

However, it is important to notice that Jackie Young didn’t start even a single game in the group stage as experienced guards Diana Taurasi and Chelsea Gray featured as starters. But Young did deliver coming from the bench and it is only now that she is finally making starts for Team USA. Another user expressed disappointment regarding her being the bench player earlier and wrote, “I haven’t loved how any guard has played for Team USA this Olympic cycle outside of Jackie Young.”

Well, Jackie Young has been the third-highest scorer for Team USA with 55 points, only behind the star duo of Wilson and Stewart. While it might come as a surprise for many with starts like Kelsey Plum and Kahleah Copper on USA roster, one fan feels that it’s nothing surprising about Young following Wilson and Stewart on the points tally. “Jackie young being the 3rd best player on USA team most unsurprising thing ever.”

All these reactions looked smaller when one fan just declared Young as the best player already. “Jackie Young best player in the world this tournament”. Not unfair if you remember the game against Germany, where Young gave the best performance by scoring the highest for Team USA, 19 points. Now with Team USA advancing to the final, all eyes will be on Jackie Young. Her standout performance against Australia has already captured the hearts of fans, and there’s a buzz of excitement surrounding her Olympic final.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host, BG12, sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.