On Tuesday, a 41-year-old man wore a suit to work. It was a remarkable sight.
LeBron James, entering his 24th season in the N.B.A. and his first as a Philadelphia 76er, arrived at Madison Square Garden for his new team’s season opener against the Knicks in a double-breasted suit.
It was sharp, if dated. The narrow fit of the jacket and crop of the trousers called to mind a GQ cover circa 2016. (It is difficult, as ever, to cut a suit for a 6’9” frame, even for the tailors at Louis Vuitton.) James’s choice to forgo a tie but to fasten his top shirt button — the “air tie” — was also a styling move from a generation ago.
On the whole, though, he looked ready for business. It was perhaps an affirmation of how seriously he plans to take this season, as he aims for a fifth title, with a new team.
And in a sea of younger stars, including his opponents on the Knicks, who showed up on Tuesday night looking more polished than usual but still looser and mostly unsuited, he stood out as a kind of elder statesman of the game.
For years, James has been dressing more like the laid back podcaster that he is off the court. He arrived for many games during his last season with the Lakers in jean jackets, flannels, barely laced Nike sneakers and a flat-brim hat.
James’s opening-day suit called to mind a memorable moment earlier in his career, in 2018, when James and the Cleveland Cavaliers arrived at the N.B.A. finals in matching gray Thom Browne suits. They weren’t double-breasted, but they were narrow and nipped at the hem.
It was a message of tailored unity. It was also the peak of the N.B.A.’s flex era, a leaguewide shift toward brand name one-upmanship led by players like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and, yes, James.
As that generation has aged (Westbrook is retired), the N.B.A. style wars have slowed. Age tends to clip one’s desire to be dress with panache. That has certainly happened with James and Durant. Flexing for your rivals has been supplanted by just wanting to be comfortable before warm-ups.
The Knicks, too, tend to favor comfort over flash. They gravitate toward mid-tier, Instagram-overexposed streetwear: Kith varsity jackets, New York or Nowhere hats, track pants.
Jalen Brunson has called himself a “comfy guy” in the past. He looked pretty relaxed on Tuesday night, pairing pinstripe trousers and a matching jacket with a beanie.
Tyler Kolek, the only player known to have a stylist, looked pretty casual, too, in a Knicks bomber paired with jeans and leather scrunched loafers.
Some brought a bit more polish. Though also in denim, Karl-Anthony Towns’s head-to-toe set looked crisp with white Nike Air Force Ones.
It appears they’re saving some of the flair for the game. On the court, Brunson is expected to wear a player-exclusive pair of gilded Nike Kobe 6 Protro “Ring Night” sneakers. And he and his teammates will sport jerseys embroidered in gold lettering, making the Knick uniform a bit more showy than usual.
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