Dressed to Win: 3 Iconic Sports Moments & the Styles that Helped Shape Them
LeBron James Brings it Home
In 2003, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed a rookie by the name of LeBron James who hailed from the nearby town of Akron. Although they didn’t make it to the playoffs that year, he would become the first Cavalier to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. By 2010, LeBron had become a free agent and would go on to sign with the Miami Heat, winning the team their second-ever Championship in 2012. Despite his success with the Heat, LeBron opted to return to his home team and signed with the Cavaliers again in 2014.
In the 2015-16 season, there was one team that everyone was looking at, the utterly dominant Golden State Warriors, who had just put up the best regular season ever with 73 wins to only 9 losses. Led by the player many considered the greatest shooter of all time, Stephen Curry, the Warriors had defeated the Cavaliers in the Finals the year before.
However, this time things would be different. In an incredibly intense series, LeBron James proved why he was considered such a force of nature on the court and brought it to a Game 7. James not only scored a triple-double (10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists by 1 player) he also made a game-saving defensive play in the last two minutes, ultimately winning the Cavaliers their first-ever NBA Championship.
His sneakers of choice for the majority of this series were the Nike LeBron Soldier 10s, a striking sneaker that featured a laceless, three-strap design and Zoom technology in the sole. These kicks have become almost as iconic as the game they were worn in and would go on to become one of the most sought-after shoes from LeBron’s continuing collaboration with Nike.
Lisa Leslie Dunks on the Haters
Since the very start of the WNBA league, there have been players with electrifying energy and awe-inspiring athleticism. Players like Lisa Leslie, who signed with the Los Angeles Sparks in 1997 and would help take the team to playoffs for five consecutive years before winning their first WNBA Championship in 2001. Her role in securing the victory earned her the titles of WNBA MVP, Finals MVP, and Sportswomen of the Year from the Women's Sports Foundation for that year. She would also go on to represent the United States at the Olympics, winning gold in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008, making her one of only two US basketball players with four gold medals.
Despite these achievements, her legacy would be cemented by another moment in 2002, when Leslie became the first player in the WNBA to dunk, proving countless nay-sayers wrong. Although we’re not sure what she had on foot for that iconic game, one thing we do know is that Nike didn’t forget. Almost exactly 20 years later, in July of 2022, Nike paid their respects to this legendary basketball figure by releasing a pair of Nike Women's Dunk Low LX in a signature “Lisa Leslie” colourway, even including an embroidered “9” on the heel in homage to her team number.
Serena Williams Serves Looks
Although basketball is the sport best-known for its sneaker culture, tennis has its fair share of style. Without the mandated uniforms required by the NBA and WNBA, tennis players are allowed to show their sense of style on the court and there’s one player who’s done it better than anyone else. Of course, we’re talking about Serena Williams.
With news of her retirement prompting many to look back over her career, one thing is certain: there will likely never be another player like her. From winning the US Open in 1999, just one year after she had begun competing, to the famous “Serena Slam” when she won all four major titles in tennis at once in the 2002-03 season, Williams has been a dominant force on the court for her entire career.
More than just the greatest tennis player to ever touch the racquet, she’s also one of the best dressed, having sported iconic looks that proved she was a fashion icon as well as a tennis legend. Sadly, her style has been the source of unwarranted controversy, even from the start. When she first debuted, the commentators made unwarranted comments about her hair, calling the beads she had braided into it “noisy and disruptive”.
In 2018, just one year after winning the Australian Open while pregnant, she stepped onto the court in a sleek black catsuit, a look that many likened to that of a superhero. Despite praise from fans and the press for the look, the French Tennis Federation were not happy, banning Williams from wearing the catsuit even though it had a very practical function: to help prevent the blood clots that had nearly killed her during her pregnancy. The controversy prompted a campaign from Nike with the slogan: “You can take the superhero out of her costume, but you can never take away her superpowers.”
Perhaps her most iconic look was the Off-White ensemble Virgil Abloh personally designed for Williams to wear at the US Open, just days after the ban on her catsuit. The tutu dress and sparkling Off-White sneakers are arguably the most iconic look tennis has ever seen and would go on to become part of Abloh’s collaboration with Nike: a collection inspired by Serena Williams, deservingly titled “QUEEN.”
