Atlanta Hawks: What is the Best Nickname for Trae Young?

Second Contender: TraeTL

By: Noah Syverson

I get the appeal for a non-name-based moniker in the vein of Karl Malone’s “The Mailman” or Kobe Bryant’s “Mamba”.

However, “TraeTL” is simply too slick to pass up.

Its sharp consonance with the double “t” flicks off the tongue and lends itself nicely to name-drops in rap anthems. It spits.

The locality of the play on “ATL” ties Trae directly into the city and team. It’s short, sweet, and to the point–pithy enough to be featured prominently on the backs of jerseys and the fronts of t-shirts.

Additionally, it’s meant to be spoken. Written, it reads on first glance like “tray-tull”. However, it’s reliance on verbal proliferation actually helps its chances of cult adoption. Word-of-mouth dissemination is key to widespread endorsement. Three electric syllables, fun to say, that conjure up a dude who’s fun to watch.

The most important test of all? Envisioning real-world usage.

Picture in your head Bob Rathbun belting it out after a made trey from Trae. The rookie slowly backpedals, a sly grin gracing the mug of the baby-faced assassin while Bob booms forth in slow delivery, “TRAE…T…L…FROM…DEEEEEEP” as Dominique chuckles in the background.

Doth goosebumps not rise from thine flesh?

Let’s make it happen.