A sartorial slam dunk

In 2010, a month before he took to the basketball court for the first time in a New York Knicks uniform, Amar'e Stoudemire took to the red carpet at Lincoln Center in head-to-toe Tom Ford. In 2009, when NBA No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin was chosen by the Clippers, he was wearing a custom suit, a purple necktie, and an eye-catching pocket square from L.A. tailor Waraire Boswell. And sometime during this year's playoffs, there's a decent chance the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade will be photographed sporting a diamond lapel pin from Jason of Beverly Hills.

The National Basketball Association has had its share of style-savvy players - and even coaches (paging Pat Riley). But it wasn't so long ago that the biggest fashion statement on court or off was Dennis Rodman dying his hair the colors of a fruit bowl.

Think about it: It can be hard to find the right clothes when you're somewhere around 6-foot-7.

But today, even the tallest players sport a trim and tailored look. Having a personal stylist is de rigueur. Nattily attired, high-profile players grace the covers of glossy style magazines and sit front row at fashion shows next to Vogue's Anna Wintour.

The athletes' fashion side projects and brand endorsements have become so common that the league's acronym might as well be "National Bespoke Association" And it's not just about court shoes anymore. Earlier this month, Sixers' Andre Iguodala - widely know as one of the league's best dressers, often seen in Prada, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton - was the special guest at Salvatore Ferragamo's spring/summer 2011 collection presentation at King of Prussia mall to benefit Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Stoudemire is collaborating with designer Rachel Roy on a collection for women (spotlighted by Women's Wear Daily this month). And the Lakers' Kobe Bryant has partnered with Nubeo on a line of fabulously expensive watches.

It's hard to reconcile the wardrobe of today's hardwood warriors with the laissez-faire look of the league circa 2005, when the NBA felt compelled to institute an official dress code.

"The dress code was part of a larger discussion about the business of basketball, the players' role in it and projecting a positive image," said Michael Bantom, senior vice president of player development for the NBA. "It was something that teams had dealt with on an individual basis. Some teams had their own dress codes, others didn't."

But as of the 2005-06 season, players engaged in team or league business off-court were required to wear collared dress shirts or turtlenecks, dress slacks, khakis, or dress jeans with "appropriate shoes and socks." Players at games but not in uniform were additionally required to wear a sportcoat, dress socks and dress shoes or boots. T-shirts, sports jerseys, shorts, headphones, sunglasses worn indoors, or headgear of any kind were prohibited while a player was on team or league business.

Many observers - including Bantom - see that as the first ripple in what would eventually become a change in the way professional basketball players approached their clothing choices.

"True to their competitive nature, once they started dressing up - and seeing how good they looked - they started competing with each other to see who could dress the best," Bantom said. "The evidence of that can be seen in their interest in fashion and the exposure they're now getting because of the way they're dressing."

That meant players were no longer simply satisfied with the convenience of one-stop custom clothiers such as Elevee in Van Nuys, Calif., which in 2005 laid claim to half of the NBA's players as clients. Stephon Marbury once placed an order for 82 suits - one for each regular-season game - and longtime customer Shaquille O'Neal was known to order 52 shirts and 20 pairs of trousers at a clip. But after the dress code was implemented, some pro ballers took a page from the music and movie celebrity playbook and began to engage the services of stylists.

"Before the league changed the rules, it was pretty simple," said Paige Geran, a stylist who has worked with Kobe Bryant for the last year and a half. "The guys would just wear suits for every game so they'd just buy them in bulk."

After the rule change, "the more savvy guys . . . started turning to stylists because they enjoy fashion and wanted to look a little more unique. A stylist can bring a lot to the table for them - they're getting to wear stuff that a man who is 6-foot-3 can wear."

Geran's comment underscores a crucial point: Buying off-the-rack clothes - especially dress shirts and tailored suits - isn't an option for most players. And when a guy's workaday uniform is, in fact, a uniform, there is all the more reason to kick things up a notch.

The sartorial sea change led to recognition not only in men's style bibles GQ and Esquire, but also in sports media. ESPN the Magazine's first dedicated fashion issue hit newsstands in March with the Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose on the cover. The month before, Sports Illustrated published the results of a poll of 137 NBA players, asking which of their basketball brethren had the best fashion sense off the court. The Miami Heat's Wade took top honors as an all-star of style, followed by Bryant, a Lower Merion High School grad, in second place.

Bryant gets everything custom made, according to his stylist, Geran. "I've even got some companies that don't do made-to-measure but will do it for him," she says.

Bryant's body lends itself to the suit silhouette. "He has broad shoulders and a narrow chest - kind of a runway look," Geran explains. Made-to-measure Giorgio Armani and Dolce & Gabbana are current favorites. For custom dress shirts, Geran swears by Anto of Beverly Hills; for knits, she turns to John Varvatos; and for dress shoes, it's Gucci and Louis Vuitton.

Although the regular season is over, that doesn't mean anyone is slacking off in the style stakes. The playoffs - the Sixers and Heat will play Game 5 tonight - are the Oscars red-carpet season of pro basketball.