During the Atlanta Hawks’ deep run in the NBA playoffs all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, we got to see Trae Young’s signature Adidas sneaker — appropriately named the Trae Young 1 — in action for the first time.
And the shoes really did look nice in the variety of colorways.
But as the Hawks’ season came to an end, there was some hope in Young’s mind that his breakout postseason play would be enough to earn serious consideration for the Team USA squad heading to Tokyo for the Olympic Games. Young — along with Zion Williamson and Ja Morant — would get snubbed even as USAB looked to fill spots vacated by Bradley Beal and Kevin Love.
Adidas was ready, though, just in case Young got that call.
From Trae Young’s Instagram. Looks like he expected an invite to Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/UjsOzb2ohI
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) July 22, 2021
On Thursday, Young shared a look at the Team USA colorway for his Trae Young 1 sneaker that won’t get to see game action. He also had to crack a self-deprecating joke after the Team USA snub.
“Workout shoes?”
Well played, Trae.
You also have to feel for the design team at Adidas that probably spent weeks — if not longer — working on that colorway only to be like, “Uh, well, should we just send Trae a pair anyway?” That must have been awkward for someone.
The shoe would have looked great in Tokyo.
https://youtu.be/pgHz7vbqMWw