4 Reasons the NBA Will Always Be More Stylish Than the NFL

Image via Complex Original

Let's not front, the NFL's personalities and players have inspired some excellent shoes. Bo Jackson's signature shoes comes to mind, along with the plethora of fan-favorite shoes in Deion Sander's “Diamond Turf” series for Nike. But compared to the non-hyperbolic mountain of sneakers that have come from the basketball world—well the matchup isn't even fair.

Ignoring Nike and Jordan for a second, brands like adidas and Under Armour are making obvious moves to build their sneaker empires off of the NBA, not the NFL. Just ask James Harden and Stephen Curry if you're still unconvinced. But even if you ignore the recent surge that NBA stars have pumped into the sneaker industry, people like Sonny Vaccaro have helped bolster athletic brands (in Vaccaro's case, first for Nike, then for adidas) bottom lines—all through connections made around the hardwood's biggest rising stars.

Even if you take away the Jordan generation's influence on sneakers, even the most minimal and rudimentary of sneakers—the Converse Chuck Taylor—owes it's name and design to basketball.

Something to consider: when John Elliott + Co. selected a sneaker to customize for its runway show, it chose a basketball sneaker. When Givenchy's Riccardo Tisci was tasked with putting his spin on a Nike shoe, he chose a basketball sneaker. Yes, football has some clutch footwear, but when the most recent major football-centric sneaker drop—the Nike Air Trainer Cruz—looks more like overcustomized “Yeezy II-meets-Trainer SC,” then football's sneaker situation isn't looking too promising.

The problem with American football is that, well, it's American football. As much as the game is incredibly influential to North American culture, there's no question that the sport hasn't really translated outside of the continental United States and Canada. The name is used to differentiate the sport from the “football” (cough…soccer…cough) of the rest of the world, it's also a subtle reminder that the sport hasn't found a strong footing outside the 50 States.

So what of basketball? It's a well known fact that basketball players who can't cut it head abroad to play ball. There's also the influx of quality foreign players coming to the states to play in the NBA. From China to Europe, with most countries having various levels of professional-grade competitive basketball. Sure, these leagues often don't hold a candle to the NBA, but the international cross-pollination of players is just one side of the game's international audience. Add in organizations like FIBA, which hold international competitions in the same vein as soccer's FIFA, and even the NBA's stars are able to catch international recognition.

Besides, while football lacks representation in the Olympics, there's no question that the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team” is one of the best teams ever assembled in the sport's history. There's no question that Olympic Basketball and FIBA World Cup play—often dominated by team USA—has helped expose the world to the NBA's personalities (and the sneakers and clothing that come with those players).

More international exposure doesn't just mean that the players are seen by more people around the world, it makes it a much more accessible inspiration for designers around the globe. Take a look at Paris-based Pigalle's fascination with basketball. Sure, Givenchy—a Paris-based brand with an Italian creative director—chose Victor Cruz to be a face for the brand, but that's more of a testament to Cruz's tasteful personal style and fashion sense. Besides, that accomplishment for the NFL hardly stacks up when you realize it chose basketball as the inspiration behind the entire Autumn/Winter 2014 collection.

No one is implying that NFL players aren't in shape. Quite the opposite. In a broad sense, to thrive in the NFL, you need a blend of cardio and strength training in order to, not just be faster than your opponents, but to handle the very physical play that goes down every Sunday. That said, while wide receivers, quarterbacks, and a few other positions are going to need men who are toned up and lean, there's also plenty of gridiron positions that require players to be muscular at best...and bulky at worst.

No matter where a player stands on the floor, there's no debate that the general shape of basketball players is tall, toned, and lean. This is effectively the same body type required of most male runway models, albeit without the height that NBA players have. While it's understood that most NBA players have a hard time finding clothes that fit their frame, it's less of a stretch to see a basketball team in designer clothes, than it is to see a football roster (and, we're talking the whole team, not just a few players).  Yes there are bulky basketball players and lean NFL players, but you don't see anyone looking like William “The Fridge” Perry running up and down the hardwood for 48 minutes either.

We know that NBA style is generally pretty atrocious. For every well-dressed NBA baller in the front rows of New York Fashion Week, there's a dreadful Russell Westbrook press conference fit waiting in the shadows. But the important thing, is that the NBA tries. Whether it's Dwyane Wade's line of ties, Stephen Curry's role as global ambassador for Express, or simply the obvious effort players put into their pre-game wardrobes, they're all indicators that the NBA is trying to leave it's mark on fashion (with varying levels of success). It's why you see people like Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Amar'e Stoudemire at fashion-centric events like Met Gala and NYFW.

Yes, the NFL can hang its fashion credentials on the likes of Victor Cruz and Tom Brady (hi Giselle), they're only small glimmers of hope in a league that's generally disinterested in fashion. Even Russell Wilson, who was commended in Vanity Fair's “International Best Dressed List” this year, received praise for an unquestionably trash outfit at the 2015 BET awards.

Yes, the NFL has been making efforts to be more fashionable as of late, but we doubt that they have the athlete-models to hold a fashion show that would go toe-to-toe with the (admittedly corny) NBA “All-Style” fashion show this past All-Star Weekend.