Ascribing winners and losers from the NBA Draft is not just about what the acquisitions mean for the organizations moving forward and who has the most upside. Nowadays, the event is as much about the catwalk as it is the hardcourt.
The friendly fashion rivalries start now.
Overall, there were much more hits than misses as we saw lots of well-tailored looks. Even Toronto Raptors 23rd-overall pick OG Anunoby dressed much better than his draft placement.
From Karl Malone, to Jalen Rose there have been some bad draft day suits that we will never be able to erase from our minds.
LeBron James looking daring and dashing in all white. Andrew Wiggins going black and white floral. We’ve seen great players swing for the fences during their introduction to the league. The way a player dresses on draft night hasn’t necessarily been a predicator of how they’d play. But it has been a precursor to their sartorial choices moving forward.
The outfitters are also competing.
Jhoanna Alba had the best night as Dennis Smith Jr. looked great in a double breasted white and black tuxedo. Bam Adebayo had a double-breasted vest to pull together a navy and grey three-piece suit. Mathias Lessort looked like he was ready for his wedding day in a white tux.
CJ Custom Clothiers wasn’t far behind as they had strong performances with Justin Patton and Donovan Mitchell.
Nike also had a good showing signing seven first-round picks to shoe deals.
This draft will be remembered not just for the 16 freshmen picked in the first round, but that the vast majority of players looked fresh. Here’s a “look good, play good” guide on the NBA’s fashion show, the NBA Draft.
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Top Picks
De’Aaron Fox – A+
The fifth freshman drafted was the best dressed. Classic, clean and timeless is how the speedy point guard looked. Fox wore a dark purple custom-lined JF J. Ferrar custom suit made by JC Penney (who has become a go-to draft day outfitter) with a clean white shirt with great collar integrity, well tied triangular knot on a skinny black tie. Fox was Men in Black meets Ocean’s 11 on draft night.
Fox kept the theme of bespoke lining going, honouring his mom who is a 21-year breast cancer survivor, with pink breast cancer symbols inside his blazer. Fox, whose aunt was also stricken with cancer, is looking to use his newfound fame to raise money and awareness for cancer in the form of charity work.
Already a pitch man, in his ESPN interview not only did he proclaim himself best dressed, he mentioned his partnership with JC Penny and pointed out his shoes, suede loafers that said “LOVE” across the front. Fox made sure the camera man pulled out wide to get them in the shot. He’s already a savvy fashion vet.
T.J. Leaf – A
This was one of my favourite looks of the night and it came from a pretty surprising source in the soft-spoken UCLA Bruin. Leaf wore a royal blue, three-piece suit finished off with white buttons and detailing made by Elevee. The stretch four power forward kept it conservative, but threw caution to the wind with an unkempt pocket square. I also love the choice to have side vents in the back of the jacket rather than single vents letting you know this outfit wasn’t off the rack it was made to measure for a man with a mean sense of style.
Malik Monk – A-
Fox’s Kentucky teammate also looked great in a navy-blue JC Penny tuxedo with the best shawl collar we saw on the night and a neat black skinny butterfly bowtie (see above). His Louboutin’s loafers were the best pieces of footwear to set foot on the red carpet. More importantly Monk brought back the lapel chain, showing he might still be 19 years old, but he’s got grown man taste. The only downside of his look keeping him from taking top billing is his camouflage lining looked cheap and his dress shirt was baggy around the hips and didn’t stay neatly tucked throughout the night, a fashion technical foul.
Draft Day Busts
Josh Jackson – C+
The iciest watch award goes to Josh Jackson who wore a Rolex flooded with diamonds.
Jackson gets points for daring to stray from the cool colours of blue, grey, black that dominate the outfits in proceedings like this. Although his burgundy jacket wasn’t technically a tuxedo so it looked a little too casual coupled with black pants and a black shirt. No pocket square? No lapel pin? This look had so much more potential it never reached. Suns fans hope that isn’t the case with Jackson’s career.
Markelle Fultz – C
Fultz decided to wear a shoe made of basketball leather. He came up with the idea and had them custom made. The white laces and soles make them look much to causal for the occasion and they didn’t flow with the rest of his outfit or his colour scheme. They look more like Bowling shoes than dress shoes quite frankly.
The University of Washington product wore a gray pinstripe suit jacket and pants, giving a shout out to the University of Washington with a white and purple checkered shirt and a multi-colored bow tie made out of a wicker material. What did work was the suit was lined with photos of his family and also had “#F2G FAITHFUL TO THE GRIND” on the right side.
Zach Collins – C-
As Collins learned what town he was moving to he gave an ode to his old town with Las Vegas on his suit lining, pocket square and loafers.
Collins clearly takes his style seriously, but looked like he was playing a show on the Vegas strip and not getting ready to play in the NBA Summer League there.
Collins got the small details right but the rest of his outfit didn’t pop. He wore black on black. Not only was it too dull for the occasion, the different tones of black between his shirt, tie and suit clashed. Not to mention there is never a good reason to wear a leather tie unless you’re a dominatrix. And the black-tie bar he wore on top of it got lost because it was the same colour as the tie and also too big for his skinny tie, which is a much-too-often committed fashion sin.
Lonzo Ball – F
Like everything with this family, this is a family ruling. But in the case of family fashion, the sum isn’t greater than its parts. Lonzo wore shiny, all black attire and donned a black bow tie with the Balls’ Big Baller Brand logo on it. He accessorized with a diamond-studded cross necklace. Ball didn’t wear his Big Baller shoes on the red carpet, but once he hit the stage at the draft he slipped them on in Lakers colours.
Unfortunately, he looked like he was an extra in New Jack City, not a prospect going to a new team.
Lonzo’s dad, LaVar, matched his son in all black and showed off his Big Baller Brand with a BBB tie. LaVar donned a purple and gold Big Baller Brand hat as soon as the pick was made and Lonzo’s ZO2 Big Baller Brand shoes with a Lakers colourway went on pre-sale as soon as Adam Silver made the announcement. LaVar’s middle son, LiAngelo, matched his dad, repping the logo as well. LaVar’s youngest son, LaMelo, stood out in a bright red suit jacket and a red bow tie. The whole family looked like they got their fashion from a bad prom night Pinterest board.
In a night where NBA fashion met philanthropy, this tweet summed up the draft.