OKC Thunder star Russell Westbrook is SLAM LeagueFits playoff edition champion

Although the OKC Thunder bowed out early in the playoffs Russell Westbrook beat all contenders to win SLAM  LeagueFit competition.

If you’ve been a hoops head for a long time you might recall when David Stern was the man at the head of the Association he wielded a heavy hand over what the players wore. This was during an era when wardrobes weren’t the first, second or third things occupying players minds. Moreover, it coincided with issues the league was dealing with about perception following the ‘Malice in the Palace’ when the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons got into a brawl which carried over into the stands.

Couple that with it being the Allen Iverson era. Iverson is hugely responsible (or at least most players credit him for it) for introducing the hip-hop culture into the NBA. A.I. wore his hair in braids, sported big chains, do-rags, had tattoos and was often in hip hop gear.

This led to Stern enforcing a dress code which required players to wear “business or conservative attire” to and from games and at any functions they attended tied to the NBA (such as philanthropic events or press functions).  Subsequently, most players wore suits and ties prior to games. Notably large jewelry, jeans, do-rags, and even sneakers were banned via Stern’s dress code. The dress code was implemented in the 2005-06 season.

As you can imagine players didn’t react well to be forced to align with a dress code. Several felt the league banning hip-hop wear limited their ability to express themselves. However, what organically happened is players got more and more invested in fashion. It’s commonplace now to see NBA players sitting front row at fashion shows. And, like Russell Westbrook, many have gone on to start their own fashion line.

Westbrook is still the reigning fashion icon of the NBA though many take fashion seriously. There are numerous debates and videos over who owns the mantel for the most fashionable star.

Slam Magazine took the opportunity of tying fashion from the playoffs into a bracketed event. A player from each of the matched up first round teams was pitted against a member of the opponent’s team they were playing. The winner moved forward on the board until a champion was crowned.

The 16 players:

West Contestants:

As noted a player from each of the teams seeded one through eight were matched up against their opponent. In the first round those pairings looked like this:

Round one:

More from Thunderous Intentions

• Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
• Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
• 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
• Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
• Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder

Warriors DeMarcus Cousins vs LA Clippers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA advanced)

Rockets PJ Tucker vs Jazz Joe Ingles (Tucker advanced)

Nuggets Jarred Vanderbilt  vs Spurs DeMar DeRozan (DeRozan advanced)

OKC Thunder Russell Westbrook vs. Blazers Damian Lillard (Westbrook advanced)

East Contestants:

Bucks D.J. Wilson vs. Pistons Blake Griffin (Wilson advanced)

Celtics Terry Rozier vs. Pacers Myles Turner (Rozier advanced)

76ers Ben Simmons vs. Nets D’Angelo Russell (Simmons advanced)

Raptors Serge Ibaka vs. Magic Aaron Gordon (Ibaka advanced)

Crowning a Champion:

In rounds two and three the same players were pitted against the players from their side of the bracket. In the West, Gilgeous-Alexander faced Tucker while Westbrook faced DeRozan with PJ and Russ advancing. Round three witnessed Russ beating out Tucker to move on to represent the West side of the bracket in the finals.

In the East, Rozier beat out Wilson while Simmons advanced over Ibaka. And Simmons was the player who advanced to represent the East side of the bracket in the finals.

The above video highlights the finals as Westbrook’s outfit competed against Simmons. NBA players Nick ‘Swaggy P’ Young and Jordan Clarkson were part of the judging panel who crowned the winner.

And, shocker Russell Westbrook prevailed as the champion of NBA fashion. One of the judges even stated it wasn’t a fair competition because the Brodie is just so much stronger than anyone.