Team USA Basketball’s Cool, Exclusive T-Shirts Were Designed By a Fan

The story behind Team USA basketball’s cartoon t-shirts.

Kevin Durant’s USA Basketball shirt. / @usabasketball

Team USA won gold in men's basketball at the Paris Olympics. Following the gold medal game many of the players were seen wearing a USA basketball shirt featuring the roster in animated form. While it seemed like an obvious nod to a classic Dream Team shirt from the '90's, it was actually an unofficial tee made by a New York-based chef.

Joe Vadakkedam has nearly a million followers on Instagram where he posts videos of himself making meals for people after asking them what they want from his balcony. He designed the shirt so he'd have something cool to wear when he went to some of the games in Paris. He sent the design to a number of Team USA players and one responded. He then had 30 made and delivered to the team's hotel.

Tyrese Haliburton was the first one to wear one and Vadakkedam thought that was it. Then just about everyone—including LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards—was spotted in one after winning gold. He spoke with Complex and posted about the entire experience on Instagram.

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A post shared by Joe Vadakkedam | Fire Escape Cooking (@thejoemustgoon_)

As he pointed out, Nike does have their own version of the shirt, but everyone wants the one the players were wearing. Unfortunately, he's not selling them because he'd probably end up in legal trouble with the IOC and Nike. The way these shirts have gone viral, it would be a great opportunity for everyone to work together, make a little money and generally just be cool about everything, but you know how that goes.

4x Olympic Gold Medalist 🥇🥇🥇🥇

🇺🇸7️⃣ Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/FzWnu6lzCk

— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) August 11, 2024