Tamera Young is the daughter of Greg Young and Lynda Nichols-Brown. John Brown is her step-father. SHe has an older brother, A.J., and two older sisters, Nikia and Valerie. (Her cousin, Willie Williams, was a cornerback for the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks).

High School
Young went to Laney High School, where she was coached by Sherri Tynes. (Another Laney alum is NBA star Michael Jordan.) In addition to being an Honor Roll student, Young Laney was conference regular-season champion in 2003, and conference tournament champion in 2003 and 2004. She also competed in track, and indeed, was track team MVP in 2002.

University
Young attended James Madison University, where she was a Kinesiology major with a concentration in sports management and a minor in business. She played for the James Madison Dukes under coach Kenny Brooks.

Young made the CAA All-Rookie Team in 2004-05, and was the team leader in steals and 3-point field goals. She made the All-CAA First Team in 2005-2006, and led the team in steals and second in scoring, rebounding and assists.

Young continued her winning ways as a junior in 2006-2007, scoring her 1,000th point on Dec. 18 vs Savannah State. She was only the sixth player in JMU history to reach 1,000 points as a junior. In 2007-2008, she set several school records, such as points in a season, career steals and career starts. She was also CAA Player of the Year and named to the All-CAA first team.

WNBA
Young was the #8 pick in the 2008 WNBA draft, and was chosen by the Atlanta Dream.