The NBA has arguably set the standard of marrying fashion and sports thanks to its highly watched NBA Tunnel, which has been adopted by other sports leagues in recent years.
The NBA’s version, which gained steam after the 2005 dress code mandate, has grown to play a massive role in the league itself, with broadcasts airing tunnel walks, fashion brands partnering with players and many social media accounts popping up to document athletes’ unique looks.
“Our players are some of the most loved and celebrated athletes, as well as fashion icons,” said Lisa Piken Koper, head of apparel and sporting goods at the NBA. “Our fans are interested in everything they do off the court in addition to what they wear, so I think it’s just really compelling content to get a sneak peek and a lot of guys take big fashion risks.”
The NBA Tunnel has been a way for players to showcase their personal style, with athletes like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Russell Westbrook, Jordan Clarkson, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum and many others regularly making an impression on viewers.
Over the years as the NBA Tunnel’s popularity has grown, more and more players have been encouraged to participate to highlight their personal style, making it so virtually all players in the league have their moment each game.
“It’s gotten to the point where, of the 450 players in the NBA, probably 300 of them are dressing up every single game,” said Ian Pierno, the founder of Instagram account LeagueFits, which extensively covers the NBA Tunnel. “That goes from the star players like your LeBrons, your Shais, and even guys [who] are 13th on the bench can have a huge impact on the tunnel and [receive] online engagement even if they’re not playing.”
Showcasing their individual style is an important part of a players’ career, according to Eli Kumekpor, chief executive officer of sports lifestyle brand Mitchell & Ness, who sees the NBA Tunnel as a way for athletes to build their brands.
“The evolution has gone from a casual thing to a very deliberate take on how they show up and how they express themselves,” he said. “It’s smart because a lot of players are using that to build their individual brands and to express themselves without having to say a lot or be the loudest person in the room. It’s not just going to work [for the players,] it’s actually spurned into lucrative, not just partnerships, but brands of their own.”
Fashion brands have capitalized on the opportunities presented by the NBA Tunnel and the players’ star power by using the tunnel as a way to launch partnerships or products. For instance, in January 2023 James famously debuted the coveted Tiffany & Co. x Nike collaboration during his tunnel walk before a game against the New York Knicks. The Lakers player wore a black and Tiffany blue letterman jacket paired with matching Nike Air Force 1 “1837” sneakers.
Pierno highlighted Trae Young as another player who had a memorable tunnel reveal during his career. In 2019, the Atlanta Hawks point guard debuted his Adidas x Icee sneaker collaboration by walking the tunnel in an all-white look carrying a freezer box of the frozen beverage.
“When you really look outside of the game, clearly brands are partnering with players,” Kumekpor said. “You’re seeing capsules dropped early or glimpses of it in the tunnel. You look at the correlation of some of those same brands and how they partner broadly with the league, there’s sort of a connectivity and correlation.”
The NBA Tunnel’s broad reach has also attracted non-basketball fans who are interested in following players’ looks.
“It’s become a great tool in obtaining new fans because if you’re a new fan of basketball, maybe the statistics go over your head because there are so many numbers and whatnot in basketball,” Pierno said. “But, even if you don’t know all of the high-fashion brands, you can relate to the cool outfits that the guys are wearing in the tunnel.”
Pierno’s LeagueFits can be credited with increasing the popularity of the NBA Tunnel, as the account has been documenting tunnel walks since 2018. Pierno explained that when he started the account, there was little to no coverage on athletes’ style during the broadcast.
“In the mid 2010s, if your outfit was going to be seen, maybe it’s because you had a national TV game on TNT and Charles Barkley was making a remark about it,” he said. “Maybe that was on TV for like 10 seconds and it’s just some B-roll, but now LeagueFits plays a big role because, when we first started in 2018, we were posting everybody — star players, benchwarmers, anyone that was dressing up. It was moments that lasted.”
At the NBA, Piken Koper said content on the NBA Tunnel is some of the league’s highest-performing on its social media platforms and its app.
“It’s grown as social media has grown,” she said. “It’s content that our consumers are incredibly interested in and I think the players are starting to have a lot of fun with it.”
While some basketball players stick with a classic menswear style for their tunnel walks, others have used the NBA Tunnel as a way to experiment with high-fashion and unconventional looks. This is something Kumekpor applauded about the NBA Tunnel, as it reflects changes being seen across men’s fashion.
“You look at this generation and you look at fans of the sport today — this notion of individuality is one that resonates with a lot of consumers,” he said. “People are shirking the uniformity and conformity of having to dress according to a set of rules. If you look at the tunnel, a lot of guys are challenging rules and challenging norms of how you put things together, how you dress and how you style certain things. That’s resonating a lot with today’s consumer who is moving away from the tried and true rules.”
As the 2024 playoffs wrap up in the next few weeks, the stakes are even higher for the NBA’s top players to amp up their game, both on the court and in the tunnel.
