Any guy, NBA player or not, can spend thousands, buy a custom tailored suit and look like they walked out of a magazine..
And the majority of NBA players have body types best described as tall and fit, toned with lean muscle. With that silhouette,anything tailored to your body will make you look sharp. But there’s more to style than just wearing nicely-fitted clothes when you have the resources to afford them. The NBA is becoming more and more synonymous with fashion. Look up NBA Fashion and you’ll get a long list of “best dressed” athletes. But there are far fewer players in the NBA who have the fashion sense to think outside the box.
Stephen Curry looks good all the damn time, but does his fashion go outside the box? Chris Paul is always sharp in his suits, but at the end of the day, his looks are locked on repeat. So that begged the question, who is the most fashion forward? Who is actually breaking barriers with their style choices? We’ve compiled our list of the most Fashion Forward style icons of the NBA. Fashion Forward, meaning pushing the boundaries of normalized fashion trends within the NBA.
1. Walt Frazier
NBA’s first athlete to be featured in fashion magazines in the 70s. Walt Frazier knew how to dress himself. He grew up admiring his father’s sense of style, which helped him to develop his own flare. His signature looks included mink coats, wide brimmed boraslinos, and dapper suits.
2. Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook is probably the most favorite style icon from the NBA currently. With design collaborations ranging from Barney’s New York, True Religion, Jordan Brand, and his own eyewear brand, Westbrook Frames, Westbrook has cemented himself in the industry as a bona fide fashion icon. His style leans into edgy streetwear with a flare for androgyny. He’s not afraid to go preppy in one look, then street the next. His fashion Inspiration? His mom!
3. Iman Shumpert
Most regularly seen fashioning it up along side his wife, Teyana Taylor, Shumpert rocks a range of streetwear, most prominently, designers like Hood By Air (HBA) – streetwear that’s rooted in athletic wear but elevated with crisp and edgy innovation.
4. Dennis Rodman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0eoKd2mNLE
Whether you enjoy Rodman’s fashion or not, there’s no doubt he is the most fashion forward NBA player to grace the mainstream media. Nowadays, gender bending fashion is becoming a wider practiced trend, but go back in time to the 90s and look at some of Rodman’s fashion moments, and you’ll see him rocking cropped halter tops, colorful and bouncy neck scarves, with neon dyed hair, and perhaps his most defining element, full drag makeup. He was dressing way ahead of his time. That confidence is wildly admired.
5. Craig Sager
The NBA’s most fashion forward sideline reporter, Craig Sager, was beloved in the basketball community and known by most for his psychedelic suits. In 2016, Craig lost his two year battle with leukemia, though his memory lives on.
These are our top 5 picks for most Fashion Forward NBA personalities. People that take risks with what they wear and inspire those of us who are paying attention to take risks with our day-to-day or weekend party outfits. It’s important to feel confident when you’re out in the world, and we thank these men for putting their creativity on display for us to enjoy.
Hate it or love it, there’s no denying that the confidence behind their style is admirable.
Have thoughts? Share them below!