“I never really thought that I’d be in a position where people would be wondering what I was wearing,” says Wardell Stephen Curry II, or as fans of the Golden State Warriors, Team USA basketball, or his unmatched skills behind the three-point line call him, Steph. But they do—they care a lot. On LeagueFits, an Instagram account that regularly posts photos of stylish outfits worn by NBA players, over one million followers closely watch their favorite athletes’ style choices. “ID Cardigan?” one person commented on a photo from LeagueFits of Curry wearing a cream sweater with bejeweled buttons and two-tone army-green jeans. “Can anyone ID the pants?” asked another.
When Curry entered the National Basketball Association in 2009, what he and his fellow players wore to games wasn’t something they thought twice about. Fans weren’t thinking about it either. Fifteen years later, though, that’s no longer the case, and now, “tunnel fits,” or outfits worn by players in the tunnels that connect arena back entrances to locker rooms, are a business in and of themselves and a very public way for players to showcase who they are off the court. Because of that, athletes who maybe never considered fashion a priority early on in their careers now see the benefits of leaning into it and, as a result, developing their personal style. Curry is one such player.
On Steph Curry: Bottega Veneta jacket, tank, jeans, and shoes
On Steph Curry: Zegna shirt and bottoms
In the space between his gold medal win in Paris and the start of the 2024–25 NBA season, Curry—who, when compared to fellow pros like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, and Russell Westbrook, has never been known to show out style-wise on game day—debuted head-to-toe looks by Bottega Veneta, Versace, Zegna, and Ferragamo. “THE LOOOOOKS ARE LOOKING,” one commenter wrote on a photo of Curry’s laid-back Zegna look from the US Open that was posted by his stylist since 2023, Jason Bolden. (You might recognize Bolden from his work with Cynthia Erivo on the Wicked press tour and Nicole Kidman.) “Might be the best fit I’ve seen him in,” another person commented on a LeagueFits post showcasing Curry’s Bottega Veneta outfit from New York Fashion Week.
Suffice it to say, with the NBA season now underway, the four-time champion has never had so many eyes on his outfits. And already, he’s living up to the hype, continuing his streak of impressive and unexpected ensembles, now in tunnels across America (and eventually Canada). “Good fit,” LeagueFits captioned a pre-game photo of Curry from early November. “Someone tell Wardell to keep dressing like this.”
On Steph Curry: Ferragamo Nappa Bomber ($6200) and Jeans With Contrasting Stitching ($1090)
Nothing Curry does is by accident or chance. He’s meticulous in everything he pursues, and that includes fashion. The 36-year-old two-time MVP is well aware of the fact that what he and his fellow players wear matters. “These tunnel moments for us, we want to be super intentional,” says Bolden about Curry’s looks this season. People are watching—millions of people. “So when you see those images of him, and you see those ‘fits that everybody goes crazy over, it’s because there’s some intentionality [behind] them. It’s a feeling of, Wow, I really like this brand, Jason. We should really represent them,” the stylist continues. When people pick apart every outfit you wear like it’s game tape, an opportunity to highlight underrepresented designers and brands arises. At least, that’s how Curry and Bolden have chosen to approach some of their tunnel ‘fits in this era of heightened interest surrounding fashion in the NBA.
I need to be pushed in certain directions to know how I can stretch my range and versatility with the ‘fits I put on.
“I’ve tried to take advantage of all of the opportunities, have fun with it, and [most of all] be intenView Posttional,” says Curry of fashion. His main priority is to uplift Black and Brown designers who might otherwise not get the sort of exposure that comes with a player of Curry’s caliber and popularity wearing one of their designs in the tunnel. When a really big game comes around, the duo wants to be ready to give a platform to a smaller, on-the-rise designer of color. “That’s the thing that I’ve really taken even more into consideration [this season],” Bolden says. “Anybody can wear amazing looks, but what’s the intention behind them? There has to be something bigger than clothes, and that’s to celebrate these talented people who don’t get an opportunity to be plastered all over the place.”
