"We get a chance to hit on Rihanna" - Nick Young spills on his attempts to catch Rihanna's attention at Lakers games
Nick Young grabbed headlines from time to time during his stint with the LA Lakers from 2013-14 to 2016-17. “Swaggy P” probably had his best season in the NBA in his first year with the Hollywood team. He averaged 17.9 points as the Lakers’ sixth-man extraordinaire, a role that earned him nods for the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Young relished the chance to play at the old Staples Center, now Crypto.com Arena, in front of some A-listers from sports and entertainment. Among those who often showed up for the games was pop icon Rihanna. LeBron James was still in Cleveland at that time but the “Umbrella” hitmaker was already a staple in Lakers games.
In an interview with Vlad TV, Nick Young was asked about the experience playing for the LA Lakers with Rihanna at courtside. “Swaggy P” responded:
“We get a chance to hit on Rihanna. … Roll over the ball by her. ‘Oops,’ I did that.
Admitting that he was trying to hit on Rihanna probably didn’t surprise many. It was in Young’s first year with the Lakers that he started seeing and almost got married to Australian model and rapper Iggy Azalea. LA’s then-shooting guard was also in an on-again, off-again relationship with longtime sweetheart Keonna Green.
The planned marriage to Azalea went out the window when a leaked video of Nick Young admitting he cheated on her became viral. D’Angelo Russell, one of his former teammates, secretly videotaped Young spilling the beans.
In June 2016, Iggy Azalea broke off the engagement, which in itself was huge news. A few days after the stunning end of the relationship, Keonna Green admitted that she and Young were expecting a daughter, their third kid together.
Nick Young calls Paul George and James Harden big disappointments
Nick Young last played following the 2018-19 season which was with the Denver Nuggets. He remains a big fan of Los Angeles teams and continues to watch games involving either the Lakers or the Clippers.
Here’s what he had to say when asked about the Clippers’ season:
(1:50 mark)
“Big disappointment, big disappointment 'cause they were stacked. … I feel like that team gets killed in the playoffs mentally. They [fans] talk about ‘Playoff P,’ [and] James [Harden] don’t show up and I think that stuff gets to them. This year, they just let us down. We needed an LA team in the playoffs.”
This year, none of the Los Angeles teams Young rooted for made it past the first round of the playoffs. The Lakes were sent home in five games by the Denver Nuggets while the Clippers were booted out by the Dallas Mavericks.
Nick Young did win a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2018. Although he hardly played in the playoffs during that title run, he knows something about superstars stepping up in big games. He didn’t see that this year from the Clippers and gave his verdict on how they performed despite having a star-studded roster.