The Hawks All-Star point guard lands with the Jumpman as he looks to make a larger impact back home in Oklahoma.
After playing out the sneaker free agency process during the fall, Trae Young has signed with Jordan Brand, Boardroom has learned. The new multi-year deal will add the three-time All-Star point guard to a Jordan roster that has continued to add young stars to its list of athlete endorsers, just as Michael Jordan’s signature series extends past a fourth decade in footwear.
“This brand embodies basketball, style, a desire to win, and the desire to be great,” Young told Boardroom. “I’m super excited to join the family and get to work.”
Young is expected to help headline the Air Jordan 39, the brand’s flagship annual game shoe, with his own player exclusive themed colorways potentially arriving during the second half of the NBA season.
After signing with Adidas ahead of the 2018 NBA Draft, Young launched three signature sneakers as his star power suddenly rose early into his career. He was named a starter in the 2020 NBA All-Star Game in Chicago, leading to a new signature shoe deal with the brand and more marketing support. He later unveiled his first signature model during a breakout playoff debut series against the New York Knicks, followed up by an eventual 2021 Eastern Conference Finals push for the Atlanta Hawks.
Now 26 years old, Young is averaging nearly 23 points and 12 assists for an Atlanta franchise back in the playoff hunt. Throughout the sneaker free agency process that saw his Adidas contract expire on Oct. 1, several brands around the industry expressed an interest in signing him.
Both Jordan Brand and Anta emerged as the most aggressive, with Jordan offering a path to more US-specific activations and touchpoints close to home. Young, a native of Norman, Oklahoma, has long held both a pride for where he grew up as a kid, along with a penchant as a pro for giving back to his hometown throughout his NBA career. His dog is even named “Normi.”
Although the University of Oklahoma was a Nike school during his one-and-done season spent starring for the Sooners, the school is now one of the key featured Jumpman partner programs across the NCAA landscape.
“Oklahoma became a Jordan Brand school in 2018 right after I entered the NBA Draft,” reflected Young. “I remember thinking, ‘I wish I had the chance to rock the Jumpman in college.’ But it’s all come full circle.”
Between integrations with the program’s current athletes and potentially donning Sooner exclusive sneakers on the pro hardwood, “there will be opportunities for OU and I to come together,” beamed Young.
In addition to impacting his alma mater, Young is also expected to give back throughout the state through his new Jordan deal. A key element he was looking for in his next shoe deal was the ability to field a grassroots team on a brand’s AAU circuit, providing high school players from his home state with the same platform for exposure that helped a teenage Young rise from the midwest to a top-ranked point guard in the country.
He will now have a Jordan-sponsored AAU team providing that opportunity, and providing sneakers, to young athletes in Oklahoma.
“As a kid, you always dream of lacing up in your first pair of Jordans,” Young said. “You put on that first pair, you feel invincible and like you can take on the world.”
As Young sees it, his new Jordan deal will give him a platform to not only represent the greatness that the brand has long stood for, or lead the latest models from the beloved Air Jordan series, but also an ability to leave an impact within the game.
“To me, it’s about setting the bar for the people that come after you,” Young said. “I’m grateful MJ did that for people like myself. My goal is to try and continue that legacy for the young kids, including my brother, that are coming up after me.”
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