The Atlanta Hawks just announced a multiyear partnership with the YMCA of Metro Atlanta as their official jersey patch partner. As a result, the Hawks will debut the traditional ‘Y’ logo once again in their upcoming in-season tournament game against the Indiana Pacers. This partnership evolved from the longstanding connection between the two organizations, dating back to the inception of basketball itself. Dr. James Naismith, credited with inventing the game, introduced basketball while teaching physical education at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield.

The connection also extends to their current active player and franchise leader, Trae Young. The 2x NBA Champion has fond memories connected with the YMCA since that’s where Ice Trae started honing his skills.

Trae Young condemns his little self in a decades-old video

Young embarked on his basketball journey at the Cleveland County Family YMCA in Norman. Now, with the Hawks collaborating with the Y, his life has come full circle. According to him, it was “the gym that built” him. This major announcement likely stirred nostalgia in Trae, prompting him to delve into his archives and share a snippet from his early YMCA days.

After the major partnership announcement, Young took to Instagram to reminisce about his old days at the YMCA. However, in doing so, he also implicated himself in travelling as a young child. He posted a decades-old snippet of a game he played as a little boy and captioned the story, “Lol I know I traveled a lot!”

More details on the new partnership

As a result of the collaboration, YMCA’s traditional ?Y? logo will also be featured on all Hawks uniforms, including the organization?s NBA G League College Park Skyhawks and the physical uniforms of their NBA 2K League affiliates, Hawks Talon GC.? Through this partnership, both organisations aim to come together to bring a whirlwind of positive change to the city of Atlanta.

The Hawks will extend their support to help the YMCA carry out the social change the organisation aims for, including urgent community needs, promoting social responsibility, and uplifting inclusive communities with strong DEI values. Additionally, the Hawks will contribute to fundraising efforts in support of the Y’s mission and spearhead campaigns aimed at attracting new members.

Read More: 162-Year-Old Nonprofit Organization Grasp the Jersey Patch Deal With Atlanta Hawks

Speaking of the new deal GM Landry Fields told Andscape,“We have a [team] mantra that?s ?True to Atlanta.? A lot of values we place on the local community being for Atlanta and allowing a lot of the culture and diversity to seep into our organization, I think it?s highly aligned with the Y?s outreach, approach and philosophy. So that makes it really unique to us. I haven?t seen a patch like this one. Sometimes I?m like, I don?t even know what company that is.”

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