Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young stars in new Sprite ad alongside Anthony Edwards

Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young has already made his way into plenty of commercials. He was a part of the NBA75 celebration. And last year, Young cameoed alongside Phoenix Suns star Chris Paul in the latter’s signature State Farm Insurance ads. Young’s ascension off of the court was only outdone by his performance on it.

He led the league in total points and assists while finishing second on the team in games played behind Delon Wright who is now with the Washington Wizards.

Young’s consistency did not prevent the Hawks from being swiftly bounced from the playoffs.

It did inspire the front office to do more around him leading to a blockbuster trade for guard Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs. The addition of Murray does mean that Young will have to alter his style of play.

Trae Young’s latest ad could hold an important message for Atlanta Hawks

Young was stymied by the Miami Heat in the postseason leading to a player such as Murray being a necessity for this team to continue ascending. The reaction to the fit between the two stars has been mixed. They should allow the Hawks to play at a much faster pace with two decision-makers on the floor instead of one.

The ad for Sprite features Young alongside Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards who has grown even more popular following his cameo in Adam Sandler’s hit Netflix movie, “Hustle” which also stars Juancho Hernangomez of the Toronto Raptors.

During the spot, Young and Edwards go back and forth talking about old and new coming together to describe the new bottle for the beverage.

At one point Young declares “new ice, same tray”; a clear play on his nickname, “Ice Trae”.

But the scene shows the 2022 All-NBA third-teamer taking a literal ice tray out of the freezer and sending the ice cubes flying (via chest pass) into an awaiting glass on a table some several feet away. The entire production is a pretty fun exercise with Edwards paying homage to the 2017 Sprite ad featuring Drake.

Young signed a contract with Sprite in March of this year.

Head coach Nate McMillan said that he went to Oklahoma to train Young this summer and said that he told his point guard that he would have to play off of the ball more. McMillan also assured that he would not be taking the ball completely out of Young’s hands.

“New Ice, Same Trae”.

This ad will have no impact on how Young or the Hawks perform this season. Young has always shared messages of encouragement and resilience. That has not stopped this offseason and did not begin with this ad.

He’s also taken time to roast The Ringer’s Bill Simmons and express just how badly he wants to achieve the ultimate goal.

Young — who also stopped by the Drew League with teammate John Collins — has always had that goal as well so, again, the commercial’s message is easily more about the drink than the player.

But, following Murray’s arrival and similar declaration of championship goals, there will be a “new” version of the same Young.