Russell Westbrook Reaches Pinnacle of NBA Pre-Game Fashion, Ascends to Higher Sartorial Plane

Jan. 15, 2016, 5:15 p.m.

Russell Westbrook Reaches Pinnacle of NBA Pre-Game Fashion, Ascends to Higher Sartorial Plane

Rock on, Russ. Rock on. (Image credit @BleacherReport)

Friday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder strolled into Los Angeles’ Staples Center, probably expecting an uneventful night against a terrible Lakers squad. The evening was anything but uneventful, though, and not just because the Lakers put up a surprisingly good fight before eventually falling to the Thunder 117-113. No, the function in question was lit because Thunder point guard and noted fashion enthusiast/icon Russell Westbrook decided to make the underbelly of Staples Center his own personal runway. And boy, did he deliver.

Russ went back through his closet and dug out the outfit his mom wouldn’t let him wear to the Fall 2004 Jägermeister Music Tour for this one. And he didn’t just go with the ripped Slayer short-sleeve tee over a tight fitting, horizontally striped black-and-white long-sleeve… with thumbholes. No. That wasn’t enough. Because Russell Westbrook goes all the way no matter what. On this special night, Russ blessed us with the velvety purple capris. (2016 is the Year of the Calf. You heard it here first.) You thought that when Russ called himself the #fashionking Thursday night, he was talking about the slick Pharrell-hat/New York socialite-poncho get-up he wore to that game?


No. That tweet wasn’t simple self-aggrandizement in the moment. It was prophecy. A hint of the future that is now – the post-Slayer Russ era. If there’s a fashion nirvana, it’s just Russ and Kanye West up there right now, melding consciousness to develop a fabric that’s simultaneously drab Spanx tan and blindingly reflective metallic silver.

Read more about why Russell Westbrook isn’t getting fined out the wazoo for NBA dress code violations here.

It’s safe to say that Westbrook has been having quite the season – he’s averaging nearly a double-double with 25.5 PPG and 9.4 APG, not to mention a tidy 6.9 RPG; he’s posting the second-highest PER in the NBA; and he and Kevin Durant, finally returned after an injury-riddled 2014-15 season, are leading Oklahoma City back to contender status. Friday night’s inspired, totally thrash Slayer outfit is only the latest peak for Westbrook in a season full of them. Russ’s whole 2015-16 has been this Vine:

The storied Lakers, on the other hand, are on track to post the worst record in team history, and franchise hero Kobe Bryant, on his farewell tour, has been putting up the worst shooting numbers of his career (shooting numbers that, when viewed in context with his sky-high usage rate, are historically bad). It might be heretical to suggest, but Kobe could probably learn something here from Russ. Our self-anointed #fashionking has been shooting *100 emoji* night in and night out.

Contact Alex Cheng at aexcheng ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

Alex Cheng is a staff writer for the Arts & Life section of The Stanford Daily. He covers television, film, and live performance, with a focus on comedy. He regularly performs stand-up comedy and improv. Alex is a sophomore from Rochester, Minn. majoring in Political Science. To contact him, please email aexcheng “at” stanford.edu.

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