Trae Young and the city of Atlanta have always been a good fit for one another. It’s the city where the national basketball recruiting scene first noticed him as a young teenager, and also the home of Migos, rap’s most influential group of the 2010s.
Young’s nickname, Ice Trae, stems from Takeoff and the Migos’ 2017 interview with “Everyday Struggle” at the BET Awards. Back to that shortly.
On Nov. 5, Young led the Atlanta Hawks to a 124-121 overtime win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The first game back in Atlanta since Takeoff passed away on Nov. 1. He finished the night with 34 points and 10 assists. Young, who played the game wearing protective goggles after getting hit in the face by Julius Randle of the New York Knicks earlier last week, also suffered a right calf contusion after taking a hit from Zion Williamson in the win.
“I think that’s why I’m still fighting through pain and fighting through the next injuries because at the end of the day, what I’m going through is little,” Young told rolling out. “It’s not big in the grand scheme of things. To be honest, I’m blessed to be able to play basketball at the highest level. Anytime I get a little injury and things like that, stuff like what happened with Take is just so sad. It really opened my eyes, and I hope it opens other people’s eyes to how short this life can be. You can’t take a moment for granted because you never know when your last one can be.”
Back to “Everyday Struggle” and the 2017 BET Awards.
The show’s star, Joe Budden, ran into Pierre “P” Thomas earlier that weekend at a mall. Thomas, the co-CEO of Quality Control Music, allegedly confronted Budden about his interview with his artist Lil Yachty, where Budden yelled at him for not knowing if he was in a 360 deal or not. Despite being the hottest act in hip-hop at the time fresh off the Culture album, Budden didn’t want to interview Migos because he saw the group’s past interviews and didn’t think they spoke much. Budden was overruled, and the show interviewed the group anyway.
Co-host DJ Akademiks asked Takeoff how he felt about not being on the group’s biggest song, “Bad and Boujee.” Takeoff repeatedly asked “do it look like I’m left off ‘Bad and Boujee?'” When Akademiks said “yes,” Takeoff said he wasn’t left off “Bad and Boujee” and Budden said they need to wrap up the interview. As Akademiks closed the interview, Budden threw his microphone and walked off the set. The Migos then followed suit and asked Budden what was going on. Migos manager, Rel, and P were also pressing Budden about the maneuver. It became one of the most viral moments in hip-hop history.
Joe Budden vs Migos #neverforget pic.twitter.com/QjIn1CkN9R
— BarbInTraining (@RomanJuku) January 27, 2019
After the on-camera confrontation, Quavo and Lil Yachty released the single “Ice Tray.”
Ice Tray, young n— flooded
If a n—- hatin’, call him Joe Budden
Months later, Young posed for a picture with Migos who was a college sensation at Oklahoma. Quavo publicly pleaded for the hometown Hawks to draft Young, and he became the team’s most vocal supporter after the team traded him for the point guard in the 2018 NBA Draft. Quavo and fans immediately dubbed Young with the nickname “Ice Trae,” citing Quavo’s song, and Quavo gave Young a basketball chain to match the name. At last season’s “Quavo Night” for the Hawks, Takeoff performed at halftime.
Young has taken the nickname to a trademark celebration, and a color scheme for his first pair of Addidas shoes released. The celebration has since been used in international soccer games and in baseball.
Ronald Acuña Jr. hit the Ice Trae celebration after a monster home run!
Who did the Ice Trae Celebration better?#Hawks #Braves pic.twitter.com/uk41wflTM2
— Full Count Baseball (@FullCountMLB) June 8, 2022
Ice Trae celebration to the world 🥶 pic.twitter.com/tCjuHXlRW3
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) July 7, 2021
