Casual Whale Print Short Sleeve Summer Hawaiian Shirt Version 1

Casual Whale Print Short Sleeve Summer Hawaiian Shirt Version 1 . Team USA won gold in men’s basketball at the Paris Olympics. Following the gold medal game many of the players were seen wearing a USA basketball shirt featuring the roster in animated form. While it seemed like an obvious nod to a classic Dream Team shirt from the ’90’s, it was actually an unofficial tee made by a New York-based chef.Joe Vadakkedam has nearly a million followers on Instagram where he posts videos of himself making meals for people after asking them what they want from his balcony. He designed the shirt so he’d have something cool to wear when he went to some of the games in Paris. He sent the design to a number of Team USA players and one responded. He then had 30 made and delivered to the team’s hotel.Tyrese Haliburton was the first one to wear one and Vadakkedam thought that was it. Then just about everyone—including LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards—was spotted in one after winning gold. He spoke with Complex and posted about the entire experience on Instagram.As he pointed out, Nike does have their own version of the shirt, but everyone wants the one the players were wearing. Unfortunately, he’s not selling them because he’d probably end up in legal trouble with the IOC and Nike. The way these shirts have gone viral, it would be a great opportunity for everyone to work together, make a little money and generally just be cool about everything, but you know how that goes.

Casual Whale Print Short Sleeve Summer Hawaiian Shirt Version 1, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Casual Whale Print Short Sleeve Summer Hawaiian Shirt Version 1 . The Dream Team’s American flag jackets. The Lithuanian men’s basketball team’s Grateful Dead-inspired tie-dye T-shirts. Kobe Bryant’s Jeff Hamilton leather jacket. These pieces of clothing are immortalized forever because of the celebratory moments they were introduced in. Following its victory over France in the gold medal game this past weekend, Team USA men’s basketball provided the latest addition to the pantheon of all-time championship sports apparel when they popped bottles in T-shirts featuring cartoonish illustrations of the squad that harken back to the incredible caricature tees of decades’ past.But the T-shirt worn by the USA men’s basketball team wasn’t some official design from Nike or Fanatics as one might expect. It wasn’t even from a clothing designer at all. It was by a 30-year-old chef in New York City.“It’s hard for me to even believe this is real,” says Fire Escape Cooking creator Joe Vadakkedam. “Like, damn, LeBron James is wearing my shirt. That’s crazy. It’s still unfathomable to me.”Making a T-shirt that LeBron James and Anthony Edwards would be wearing to celebrate their gold medal wasn’t what Vadakkedam expected. A lifelong basketball fan, he just wanted to wear something he thought looked cool to the Olympics and rep the team. He couldn’t find what he was looking for online, so, he reached out to an illustrator to help whip up a design of his own.Vadakkedam DMed a handful of players, not expecting any to answer, but his full court heave went in. While he won’t say who, one of the players eventually responded and asked if the shirts could be sent to the team. Vadakkedam found a print shop in Paris to make 30 T-shirts that were sent via Uber Package to the team’s hotel.Tyrese Haliburton was the first player spotted in the shirt. He arrived at the quarterfinal matchup against Brazil wearing it. Vadakkedam expected that to be the last sighting, and was ecstatic that any NBA player wore something he made. Then, Team USA won the gold medal. As celebration videos flooded social media, Vadakkedam saw more and more players in his shirt. Players even took their official gold medal portraits wearing them. Now, his spur-of-the-moment creation is a part of basketball history.Despite their virality and hundreds of DMs asking how to buy one, Vadakkedam will not be selling them. They are limited to the 30 that he sent to the team in Paris.We caught up with the chef and social media content creator to discuss seeing his first-ever T-shirt design on his favorite players, if he ever plans to sell other clothing designs, and more.