The NBA All-Star Game has evolved into far more than just an exhibition game between the best basketball players in the world. It is now an event that turns the host city into a basketball lover's playground for the entire weekend complete with special installations, limited sneaker drops, and more. NBA legend Kevin Garnett has a proposal to bring even more flare to the Association's celebratory weekend.
"I told Adam [Silver] you should have an Off-White and Supreme All-Star game. Do two jerseys. Let the players keep one and the other goes to auction. Top and bottoms, socks and shoes, and then you auction them off. You'll make a ton," Garnett told Complex. "Listen, if you get the fucking All-Star game in London, it will be over the top. Drip classic. Limited editions bro. That's the sauce though, [Silver] would do that. We would need Virgil [Abloh] and money to get on the same jawns. That's it."
It certainly is an intriguing idea. There has arguably never been an era of the NBA where people are just as focused on what players are wearing walking down the tunnel each night as they are about what is happening on the court during the game moreso than right now. What better way to show the marriage of basketball and fashion than with specially-designed All-Star jerseys designed by two of the biggest brands in the world? J.R. Smith even has a Supreme box logo tattooed on his leg and has modeled for the brand. Russell Westbrook has his own clothing line. And those are just a few of the vast number of examples across the league.
"I like to think that David Stern was the iron fist that ran the league, made the league money, made the league noticeable and very vibrant, he knew how to take it into other markets. I don't think he knew how to manage talent," Garnett said. "He just dressed it up to be 'suit and tie' and he knew who he was selling to. I think Adam [Silver] has taken it out of that box. I think [Silver] is taking chances and he is listening to players. He’s partnering with players on some different ideas. I've seen Brooklyn do a jersey for Biggie and I see the Minnesota Timberwolves doing a Prince version, so you see all these cultures crossing over and you are seeing this intermixing."
KG's plan is definitely easier said than done, but given Nike's habit of creating special edition jerseys since taking over as the official outfitter of the NBA and its prior relationship with both Abloh and Supreme, it probably is not totally out of the question. Fusing fashion and basketball on the court could be the next logical step forward in NBA All-Star weekend's continuous evolution.
