Heading into the 2016-17 season, idiosyncratic swingman Nick Young is still on the Los Angeles Lakers, and it looks like he’s trying to turn over a new leaf. That apparently starts with retiring his famous “Swaggy P” nickname.
At Lakers media day on Monday, a cheerful Young revealed that he’s now going by the moniker of “Uncle P” due to the team’s young roster, per Mark Medina of the LA Daily News.
Nick Young is back with a happier mood. Because it's a young team, he's now referring to himself as "Uncle P."
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) September 26, 2016
At 31 years old, Young is actually the fifth-oldest player on the team, behind Metta World Peace and Marcelo Huertas as well as newcomers Jose Calderon and Luol Deng. Entering his fourth straight year with the Lakers, Young is now also their longest-tenured player (if you disqualify World Peace for leaving in 2013, then coming back last season).
It may be hard to take Young’s new nickname seriously though after an offseason in which he acted like anything but a wise old uncle. But with the Lakers unsuccessful in their persistent attempts to get rid of him, it’s good to see that Young is at least attempting to embrace something of a new era.
Here’s just hoping that Young doesn’t take the nickname a step further and delude himself into thinking that he’s a Splash Uncle as well.
