Did Timothée Chalamet Just Out-Adam Sandler at Pickup Basketball?

Basketball's GOAT debate is officially over. It's goofy actors.

July 24, 2023 12:25 pm
a photo of Timothee Chalamet and Adam Sandler on a pink background
The collab we didn't know we needed: Timmy x The Sand Man
Getty Images

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We can only imagine the trash talk between pickup fanatic Adam Sandler and the four to six other sweaty guys (who understands the rules of basketball, really?) on a blazing NYC court last week went a little something like this: Don’t talk to me or my son ever again. Unless it’s about knocking down trays. Or winning Golden Globes.

Naturally, the son in reference here is not the biological fruit of Sandler’s loins, but heartthrob/Wonka-to-be and fellow actor Timothée Chalamet, who Sandler was seen balling out with last week in both the Soho neighborhood of the duo’s hometown Manhattan. This might come as something of a shock for a variety of reasons: Sandler and Chalamet’s previously undefined relationship, for one, and the fact that not a single soul on planet Earth assumed that buck-twenty-five-soaking-wet Timmy even knew how to dribble a basketball. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that you can count on emaciated white guys‘ love of hooping with his bros.

But the fact Sandman and Timmy were photographed ballin’ hard in NYC last week, a seemingly random blessing of divine kindness at face value, perhaps isn’t actually as farfetched as it seems. as previously mentioned, Sandler is widely considered the people’s champ of street ‘ball — an A-list superstar who loves general release Jordans and is always down for a game of HORSE, regardless of his opponent or local. (Ordinary folk and NBA players both count themselves among those ranks.) His winning formula of pull-up in a pair of rumpled, oversized shorts, drop a couple dimes, and get the hell out of there is a known quantity.

If last week’s excursion is any indication, young Chalamet seems to be keen on emulating this phenomenon. (Kenergy, perhaps?) Pulling up with a pair of ultra-bright, slightly goofy Adidas Trae Young 2.0 Basketball Sneakers he bought around the corner at one of Foot Locker’s many Manhattan locations — a very Sandler move, if you ask us — are arguably more goofy pair of baggy Supreme Bogo Cargo Shorts, Tim-Tam looked the spitting image of what mood board mods and the chronically online might affectionately refer to as Sandlercore.

Another tasteful Timothee Chalamet look — Celine sneakers and Apple AirPods Max. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)
GC Images

Only time will tell if Chalamet, under the watchful eye of his pickup GOAT mentor, is on track to become the next Happy Gilmore, but we do have something more tangible for you: the ID hookup on all of the gear Timmy and Sandler were wearing, in case you feel the need to just get out there and hoop, celeb style. We’ve dropped it for you below — your jumper, however, is something we cannot help you with.

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