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\n A 29-year-old man puts on a carefully planned outfit and walks out in front of a crowd of photographers and journalists. Articles are written about what he is wearing. Photos of the look are plastered all across Instagram.\n <\/p>\n
\n No, this is not a movie star, or a musician, or a model at this year\u2019s New York Fashion Week<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s Canadian basketball star Dillon Brooks<\/a> on his way to play an NBA<\/a> game.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of cool that we can walk on our own little red carpet before we play our game of basketball,\u201d he says in an interview with CNN Sports<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n The tunnel walk has become a staple of the league in recent years. The sport\u2019s stars arrive for the day\u2019s matchup decked out in everything from designer sneakers to plaid kilts.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI think it\u2019s important. It\u2019s a part of \u2013 not the game itself \u2013 but all the stuff beforehand,\u201d continues Brooks. \u201cBuilding fan relations. Just all the buildup before the game, with all these photographers and media and all that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n It wasn\u2019t always like this. There\u2019s always been space in the NBA for a sharp suit, but nowadays things are on a different level.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cSome people have stylists that are putting their stuff together,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cIt\u2019s growing, it\u2019s progressing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n New York Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson is another NBA star who takes fashion seriously. He pinpoints the beginning of the league\u2019s style explosion about 10 years ago, naming Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Russell Westbrook as those who helped usher in a new age.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cHe\u2019s a big staple in NBA fashion,\u201d Clarkson says of 2017 MVP Westbrook in an interview with CNN Sports. \u201cOne of these pioneer guys.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt believes the league\u2019s high fashion revolution came even more recently.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI would say like five or so years ago, there\u2019s only like a couple guys that were into fashion,\u201d Vanderbilt says in an interview with CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI feel like a lot of guys are picking up on it. I think when I went four or five years ago, it\u2019s probably like maybe three or four guys that went to the Fashion Week. And now, this past summer, it was multiple \u2013 probably like 20-30 guys. So it\u2019s definitely growing over the years.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n To a certain extent, NBA players have had to fight for the right to wear what they want. In the wake of the Malice at the Palace, commissioner David Stern introduced a controversial dress code for the 2005-06 season which banned the baggy pants of the day and an assortment of \u201cchains, pendants or medallions\u201d worn over clothes, requiring players to wear business casual attire. Players like Jason Richardson<\/a> and Stephen Jackson<\/a> said the policy targeted the league\u2019s Black players and dubbed it \u201cracist.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The code was relaxed during the 2020 NBA Bubble but, as Clarkson points out, players had already been able to show off their style while remaining within the guidelines.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI feel like guys with creativity and stuff will be able to pull stuff even if the NBA did have a dress code or not,\u201d he explains. \u201cI think guys, if they had that flair or whatever, they\u2019re gonna do whatever they want anyway, in the league. So I would say it loosened up a little bit (once the code was relaxed) in terms of people taking chances, but I think people are just gonna do what they do anyways.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Nowadays, the league takes a very different approach to what its stars wear.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThey\u2019ve been highlighting the tunnel. The tunnel has kind of always been a thing, but certain pages and the NBA itself have kind of highlighted guys walking through that tunnel,\u201d explains Vanderbilt.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt was always a thing, but I think they\u2019ve been highlighting it a lot more in recent years.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Once seen as part of a perceived image problem, what NBA players wear is now part of one of the league\u2019s biggest marketing strengths: a collection of larger-than-life characters showing off their personalities through remarkable actions on and off the court.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI think it\u2019s just expressing myself. Just how I put myself together, honestly. I just don\u2019t like stepping out the house not looking fresh,\u201d says Clarkson.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cEverybody\u2019s kind of got their own lanes, their own looks and their own styles,\u201d he adds. \u201cNow, seeing all the young guys, there\u2019s just so many guys that express themselves differently \u2013 multiple styles in different ways.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n In a sport where you are being watched by thousands of strangers almost every night, Vanderbilt shares the belief that fashion is about showing a little bit of yourself.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely expressive. It\u2019s a way to express yourself, a way to tap into your creativity, your creative mind,\u201d he says. \u201cJust the joy of actually putting outfits together and just being able to find and collect certain pieces, being able to put them together.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n With some of the league\u2019s stars unafraid to walk out with kilts, handbags and leather boots, that self-expression has led to some pretty avant-garde looks.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAt first \u2013 way, way back \u2013 it was all baggy, and like suits and ties,\u201d says Brooks. \u201cNow, I feel like guys almost wear anything, to be honest.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n What that means, of course, is that players do not look out of place when they attend events like New York Fashion Week, which is currently running in the Big Apple.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cNew York Fashion Week is always fun,\u201d says Clarkson. \u201cThe last few years have been fun. I got a chance to see Ralph Lauren in the Hamptons. That was pretty crazy.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Vanderbilt has fond memories of Fashion Weeks in Europe, too.\n <\/p>\n![\"Jordan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gettyimages-1422396128.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Russell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gettyimages-1486927765.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Jarred](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gettyimages-2210919175.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Clarkson](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/gettyimages-2204584819.jpg\")
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