The NBA Finals have been pretty rough for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers as the defending NBA champions lost their third straight game to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.
While James' on court success hasn't quite been there, off the court he's continued to show why he’s one of the best dressed players in the league. If you’ve paid attention to his pre and postgame outfits, you’ll know that he’s been rocking quite a bit of John Elliott.
In the Finals alone, he’s worn various pieces from the American sportswear designer’s Season 9 “Watching Water” collection. Yesterday, he walked into the Quicken Loans Arena in a $1,610 Leather Riders Jacket. During Game 1, he laced up a pair of John Elliott’s yet-to-be-released Nike Vandal collaboration that debuted during the brand’s Fall/Winter 2017 show at New York Fashion Week.
But James didn’t just wear John Elliott during the Finals. Back in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he wore a $988 John Elliott black silk Bomber Jacket. Then, at the Game 2 postgame press conference during the Eastern Conference Finals, he was photographed in the brand’s gold Silk Coach’s Jacket ($368) and Skittles Denim ($398).
James has co-signed John Elliott for years. As early as 2014, he started rocking a pair of the brand’s popular Escobar sweatpants. Since then, he’s been spotted in other John Elliott sweatpants, hoodies, hat, and more.
As for Elliott, he’s said he’s a big fan of James and basketball—his Fall/Winter 2017 collection was inspired by the sport and his aspirations as an athlete. In 2015, the American sportswear designer sent models down the runway in custom all-white Nike LeBron 12s, which were later available for a limited time on NikeID. Last year, he collaborated with Nike to release his take on James’ Soldier 10 sneaker.
"I feel lucky to be able to work on these shoes,” Elliott told Complex in a previous interview about his relationship with James. “Any time you have a chance to work with the most important athlete in the world, you jump at that chance."
Now let’s just hope James and the Cavs can continue the series with a Game 4 win.
