Trae Young Teases His New Adidas Logo

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young debuted his new signature adidas logo with an iced-out chain.
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The Atlanta Hawks just wrapped up a lengthy road trip where the team traveled down the west coast. The California sojourn was a movie for Trae Young. The All-NBA guard scored 30+ points in three of the four games and picked up an eye-catching piece of jewelry.

Young is an adidas athlete with two signature shoes. Since signing with the German company in 2018, Young has had the same signature logo - the letter T merging with the letter Y. However, it appears Young's logo is getting a rebrand.

Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney, broke the news of a new trademark application filed by adidas in October 2022. The new logo (shown below) is a stark departure from its predecessor.

The new "TY" logo is much more minimal and has replaced the bold font with sharp, pointed lettering. As a result, it looks more like a shooting target used in a video game than the more traditional approach of merging two blocky letters.

adidas

View of trademark request.
A detailed look at the adidas trademark request / @JoshGerben

While there was original speculation that the new logo would appear on Young's second signature shoe, that is not the case. The adidas Trae Young 2 launched in November 2022 for $140.

Young's new basketball shoes have received critical acclaim for their performance capabilities but lack the off-court appeal of the adidas Trae Young 1. The main reason has been the change in materials used. 

Young's first shoe featured a mesh upper that lent itself to imaginative colorways. Meanwhile, Young's second shoe has a knit upper, which significantly limits what designs can be incorporated into the colorway.

The good news is that Young's future in the basketball and sneaker world is as bright as his new diamond chain. We cannot wait to see what the All-NBA point guard and his sponsor company will accomplish together.

Update

The original story said Josh Gerben is a reporter who specializes in the intersection of sports and business. Gerben is a trademark attorney who has contributed coverage to CNBC, CNN, NPR, and ESPN.

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Published
Pat Benson
PAT BENSON

Pat Benson covers the sneaker industry for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Previously, he has reported on the NBA, authored "Kobe Bryant's Sneaker History (1996-2020)," and interviewed some of the biggest names in the sports world. You can email him at 1989patbenson@gmail.com.