Pro athletes come from all sorts of backgrounds and upbringings. Most are American, but quite a few are from overseas too. In addition, there’s a wide range of bi-racial players whose parents have their own unique lineage as well. That’s the category Trae Young falls into.
This guide takes an in-depth look at the Hawks point guard by studying his ethnicity. It breaks down his parent’s races, his own upbringing in connection to those backgrounds, as well as how much they influenced his own life.
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A Unique Mix
Young is a biracial player who has parents of two different races. His dad is black, while his mom is white. That gives him a more ambiguous look, which causes some confusion among fans when it comes to his ethnicity and personal upbringing.
Most of the NBA is black (74.2 percent), but there’s a solid amount of white players (16.9 percent) too. Only 12.5 percent are mixed race. Being biracial puts Young in a unique category, especially when compared to the modern league.
He also ranks among other great biracial athletes, including Jason Kidd, Klay Thompson, and Mike Bibby. Those three, like Young, were lighter skinned. Thompson and Bibby also had basketball-playing dads as well.
A Basketball Family
Young was born in Lubbock, Texas to his dad Rayford and his mom Candice. However, he grew up in Pampa, Texas where his mom and grandparents raised him. During that time, his dad played overseas and couldn’t be in the states a lot.
Rayford, like his son, was always good at basketball. He excelled during his time in highschool, and eventually earned himself a scholarship to Texas Tech. That high play continued to the next level, and, after some persistence, got a tryout for the Houston Rockets.
However, that’s where his game ended in the states. He had a few chances to make it to the league, but it never panned out. After the 2000 season, he moved over to Europe where he played for various teams over the next couple of seasons.
He had a solid European career, playing for teams in a few different counties, but he never saw the sweeping success he wanted. He only lasted a little while before hanging it up.
❤️ My Momma, I Love You ❤️ #HappyMothersDay pic.twitter.com/tLLHSBxzGI — Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) May 10, 2020
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Though Rayford didn’t get his happy ending through basketball, he always had a great support system through Young’s mom, Candice. The two met in high school and continued to date at Texas Tech before getting married and having Young.
Candice, like Rayford, is a homegrown Texan with a love for basketball. She was born in Lubbock like her son, and had two pastors for parents. That gave her a deep love of religion, which is something she passed on to her son.
Though she’s caucasian and Rayford’s African American, they both had very similar backgrounds. As such, Young had a normal American upbringing. There weren’t a lot of surprises.
Where some players have a mix of different influences as they grow up, Young mainly got everything from his mom. He came up in Texas, played a lot of basketball, and excelled at every single level until he eventually reached the NBA.
Final Words
Young is a pro athlete who is an NBA player first and a biracial player second. His ethnicity is a part of who he is, but it’s far from the only aspect of his identity. He has three siblings, two great parents, and a big family. He’s an Texas-raised American through and through.
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