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Trae Young walked into the Atlanta Hawks’ first day of practice on Tuesday not in his own signature sneaker from Adidas, but in a model from Anta.

The choice of shoes, which would likely be in breach of contract, emerges from a report by Sole Retrievers that Adidas will be ending the Guards line following the upcoming release of the Trae Young 4.

Young was featured in a Hawks Instagram post performing the Anta Shock 5 “Heterochromia,” which was released last December. However, during his appearance at media day on Monday, Young stayed true to his endorsement and wore the Trae Young 3, which was released in August 2023.

Footwear News has reached out to Adidas for comment and will update once a response is received.

After beginning his career with Adidas as a rookie in 2018, Young signed a contract extension with the German brand in late 2020, which would see his signature line begin a year later. By this time, he had been named to the All-Rookie First Team and became an All-Star in his second season. In the 2020-2021 season, he and the Hawks surprised many by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The following season, Young was named to his first All-NBA Third Team for his first All-NBA honors.

However, the Hawks haven’t made it past the first round since the Eastern Conference Finals and missed the playoffs entirely last season. And while Young is coming off his third All-Star selection, his signature sneakers haven’t come close to achieving his goal of becoming the “No. 1 shoe seller in the league,” as his father, Ray Young, said The athlete in 2020.

Instead, Anthony Edwards has emerged as the new face of Adidas Basketball with the highly acclaimed launch of his first signature sneaker and his emergence as one of the league’s most talented and exciting players. James Harden’s signature line also saw a resurgence with a new design language tying it to the Anthony Edwards 1 as part of a new era for Adidas’ basketball division.

Anta could prove tempting for Young, especially after the success of the launch of the Chinese brand’s first signature sneaker for Nike outcast Kyrie Irving.

The Adidas Trae Young 4 is expected to release in the 2024 holiday season and so far only renders of the shoe have surfaced.

About the author:

Ian Servantes is a Senior News Editor for Footwear News, specializing in sneaker coverage. He previously covered streetwear and sneakers at Input and Highsnobiety after starting his career in pop culture. He embraces the idea of ​​“ball is life” and doesn’t worry about his kicks getting dirty.

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