PACERS

Pacers' 2nd round pick Joe Young related to Paul George?

The paperwork confirming the two were related came in Monday.

Dana Hunsinger Benbow
dana.benbow@indystar.com
Joe Young, the Indiana Pacers second round draft pick, talked to the media Tuesday.

The Indiana Pacers second round draft pick, Joe Young, may be joining his cousin on the team.

Cousin Paul George, that is.

The two players' family connection dates back to twin sisters who were slaves in Opelousas, La., in the 1800s, according to research by another distant cousin.

George's paternal fourth great-grandmother, Merice Donato, is the twin sister of Young's maternal fourth great-grandmother Olympe Donato, according to the research.

That would make George and Young fifth cousins.

"It's just crazy," Young, who played for Oregon, said Tuesday. "It's all the way back."

Young found out about the relationship Friday, one day after he was drafted by the Pacers. Relatives began calling his mother asking if she realized her son would be playing with his cousin.

At first, Young and his mother were wary, but he says he received the "official paperwork" confirming the two are fifth cousins Monday.

That paperwork came from Alex Da'Paul Lee, of Beaumont, Tex., who says he is a distant cousin to both Young and George and who specializes in genealogy.

Lee was talking to Young's mother on the phone when she mentioned that he had been drafted by the Pacers.

"I said, 'Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that he signed to the Pacers?'" Lee said he asked her. "You do realize? You do realize he'll be playing with his cousin?"

Paul George will welcome his  fifth cousin Joe Young to the Pacers as a teammate.

Merice and Olympe Donato, who were of mixed ancestry, were daughters of Céleste, a black slave, according to Lee's records.

Martin Donato Bello, a wealthy and affluent free man of color who lived in Opelousas, owned Céleste.

When Donato Bello died in 1847, his will emancipated the ancestors of Céleste.

George's ancestor Merice Donato died at a young age, Lee said, and her sister Olympe raised her daughters.

"To see descendants of each twin reconnected on the same NBA team 167 years later is amazing," Lee said.

Young also finds the connection amazing, but said he didn't know it as the NBA draft played out Thursday.

Still, Young was thrilled to land with the Pacers and George.

"I loved it. As soon as I heard the Indiana Pacers picked me, I just fell in love," he said. "I knew it was a good spot from the beginning."

Young said he always looked up to George, as a player.

"He works hard," he said. "I've seen the work he puts in since he got in the league and I've always piggybacked off that. I watched the videos and he really motivates me."

Young is looking forward to talking to George, now that he believes they are related.

"I haven't yet," he said. "I know he's busy."

The Star's Dakota Crawford contributed to this story. Follow Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow.