Five major achievements at the age of 28 have made Jackie Young a one-of-a-kind player as the 2026 FIBA World Cup ends. As Team USA won its fifth consecutive FIBA World Cup in a thrilling 97-79 win over France, American guard Young grabbed a career milestone that has never been seen before in history. Winning the World Cup puts Young in a league of her own, and of course, the WNBA couldn’t let the opportunity pass to celebrate Young’s historic achievement.
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The WNBA posted on Instagram about Young and her career achievements, honoring the guard who topped the scoring charts for Team USA in the 2026 FIBA World Cup. The post listed Young’s milestones, along with an image of the guard wrapped in the American flag. Her college, Notre Dame, and her team, the Las Vegas Aces, were also collaborators on the post, showcasing the extent of her influence.
The 2026 FIBA World Cup was Young’s first World Cup appearance, and she made sure to leave it all on the hardwood to push Team USA to its 12th FIBA win, establishing the team as the most dominant in women’s basketball history. Winning the 2026 World Cup makes Young the only player in women’s basketball history to win a high school state title, an NCAA championship, a WNBA championship, both Olympic 5×5 and Olympic 3×3 gold medals, and now a FIBA World Cup.
Her legendary list of achievements began back in high school, during her time at Princeton Community High School. During her tenure at Princeton, the school recorded an unbelievable record of 97-9, with Jackie Young averaging 30.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game. With Young on the roster, Princeton was untouchable, registering 53 straight wins, as the guard led the team to the 2015 Indiana Class 3A state championship. With four All-State selections in Indiana and being named the 2016 IndyStar Miss Basketball, Young found her way to Notre Dame, where her dominance became routine.
Jackie Young entered Notre Dame in 2016, but her breakout season came in the 2017-18 season. Young led the Fighting Irish to a 61-58 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs in her sophomore season, averaging 16.3 points on 47.9% shooting. She followed this with an incredible junior year where she notched her highest averages – 14.7 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 5.1 APG. Her college performance then led her to be drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in 2019, and she has become an essential part of their starting lineup.
Donning #0, Young has won three WNBA championships in her career while also being a five-time All-Star. Behind defending MVP A’ja Wilson, Young is the highest scorer for the Aces, and her 18.9 PPG this WNBA season has been essential to the Aces’ standing third in the league, with a solid record of 27-13. But her achievements aren’t limited to the domestic sphere.
Jackie Young has also been an integral part of the USA national team in the recent past, having won gold in not one, but two separate Olympics, in two separate events. Young was a part of the American squad that won the Women’s 3×3 basketball tournament at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defeating the Russian Olympic Committee. She went on to win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, as Young averaged 9.5 PPG, pushing Team USA to another win in the 5×5 basketball tournament.
Even after all of this, Young isn’t stopping. Before she resumes her WNBA journey to another championship, she became part of an elite group after winning the 2026 FIBA World Cup.
Jackie Young Is Named to the All-Star Five as Team USA Wins 2026 FIBA World Cup
As the US pushed to a dominant win over the French squad on September 13 at Berlin Arena, Jackie Young was named to a special group of players who had the most impact throughout the 2026 FIBA World Cup.
Young joined fellow Team USA member Breanna Stewart in the All-Star Five, an honorary team of five top-performing players picked by FIBA at the end of the tournament. Young and Stewart were joined by French forward Gabby Williams, Spanish point guard Iyana Martin, and German shooting guard Leonie Fiebich.
Fans were understandably shocked when Jackie Young’s name was missing from the MVP leaderboard that FIBA released before the finals, as she has been one of the most important contributors to the American squad.
Jackie Young certainly deserves the honors, as she has been one of the most prolific scorers for the American side. Young was the second-highest scorer on the American roster behind Stewart, averaging 12.3 points. She led the team in scoring during their game against Italy, notching 10 points, the only double-digit score of the team for that night.
She has been one of the primary offensive weapons for Team USA, with the second-best efficiency rating behind Stewart. Averaging 13.7 EFFPG, she shot 59.0% from inside the paint, making 23-for-39 shots, while shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc, making 7-of-19 shots over six games.
Even during the finals against France, Young scored an essential 18 points, the second-highest on the team, to go with six rebounds and five assists. Now, as the WNBA season resumes on September 17, Jackie Young will return to the Aces in the hope of chasing down her fourth WNBA championship.