The NBA has arguably set the standard in mixing fashion and sports thanks to the highly watched NBA Tunnel, which has been adopted by other sports leagues in recent years.
The NBA’s version, which gained momentum after the 2005 dress code, has grown to play a huge role in the league itself, with tunnel walking broadcasts, fashion brands collaborating with players and many social media accounts popping up to promote the unique looks of document athletes. .
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“Our players are among the most beloved and celebrated athletes, as well as fashion icons,” said Lisa Piken Koper, head of apparel and sporting goods for the NBA. “Our fans are interested in everything they do off the field, besides what they wear, so I think it’s just really compelling content to get a sneak peek at and a lot of guys are taking 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 impressing viewers.
As the popularity of the NBA Tunnel has increased over the years, more and more players have been encouraged to participate to highlight their personal style, allowing virtually all players in the league to have their moment every game.
“It’s gotten to the point where of the 450 players in the NBA, probably 300 of them dress up every game,” said Ian Pierno, the founder of Instagram account LeagueFits, which provides extensive coverage of the NBA tunnel. “That goes from the star players like your LeBrons, your Shais and even guys [who] Being 13th on the bench can have a huge impact on the tunnel and [receive] online engagement even when they’re not playing.”
Showcasing their individual style is an important part of a player’s career, said Eli Kumekpor, CEO of sports lifestyle brand Mitchell & Ness, who sees the NBA Tunnel as a way for athletes to build their brands.
“The evolution is from something casual to a very intentional look at how they appear and how they express themselves,” he said. “It’s smart because a lot of players use that to build their individual brands and express themselves without having to say a lot or be the loudest person in the room. It’s not going to work alone [for the players,] it actually converts into lucrative collaborations, not just partnerships, but also private brands.”
Fashion brands have taken advantage of the opportunities presented by the NBA tunnel and the star power of the players by using the tunnel as a way to launch partnerships or products. For example, 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 down the tunnel in an all-white look carrying a freezer container of the frozen drink.
“If you really look outside the game, brands are clearly working with players,” Kumekpor said. “You see capsules dropping early or glimpses of them in the tunnel. When you look at the correlation between some of those same brands and how they interact broadly with the competition, there is a kind of connectivity and correlation.”
The NBA Tunnel’s wide reach has also attracted non-basketball fans interested in following players’ looks.
“It’s become a great tool for acquiring new fans because if you’re a new basketball fan, the stats might go over your head because there are so many numbers and things like that in basketball,” Pierno said. “But even if you don’t know all the high-fashion brands, you can identify with the cool outfits 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 focus on athletes’ styles during the broadcast.
“If your outfit was on display in the mid-2010s, maybe it was because you had a national TV competition on TNT and Charles Barkley made a comment about it,” he said. “Maybe that was on TV for about 10 seconds and it’s just B-roll, but now LeagueFits plays a big role because when we first started in 2018, we were posting everyone: star players, bench warmers, everyone dressing up. They were moments that lasted.”
At the NBA, Piken Koper said the NBA Tunnel content is among the league’s best performing on social media platforms and the app.
“It’s grown as social media has grown,” she said. “It’s content that our consumers are incredibly interested in and I think players are starting to enjoy it.”
While some basketball players stick to 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 welcomed about the NBA tunnel, as it reflects the changes seen in men’s fashion.
“You look at this generation and you look at the fans of the sport today – this idea of individuality is one that resonates with a lot of consumers,” he said. “People escape the uniformity and conformity that comes with dressing according to a set of rules. If you look at the tunnel, a lot of guys are challenging the rules and norms of how you put things together, how you dress, and how you style certain things. This resonates strongly with today’s consumers, who are distancing themselves from the tried and tested rules.”
With the 2024 playoffs coming to a close in the coming weeks, the stakes are even higher for the NBA’s top players to step up their games both on the court and in the tunnel.
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