Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is widely regarded as the “king of NBA fashion.” But once one strips off the Chanel accessories and Thom Browne trousers, how does the Oklahoma City Thunder star and reigning league MVP stack up against other basketball luminaries?
Veteran NBA writer Ethan Strauss recently introduced the conversation about Gilgeous-Alexander’s physical appearance in a Substack post examining the “athlete lookism theory.” In it, Strauss quotes a reader who doubts the 3-time All-Star’s features are memorable enough to catapult him into the upper-pantheon of NBA icons.
“You have to either look attractive or look interesting. Larry Bird looked interesting,” the person wrote. “What you can’t be is boring looking. One reason [Oklahoma City] hasn’t caught on nationally? SGA is boring looking. Not bad looking or good looking, just nothing captivating.”
The debate over Gilgeous-Alexander’s appeal is pertinent, due to the NBA Finals’ lackluster TV ratings so far. Entering Monday’s Game 5 between the Thunder and Indiana Pacers, viewership was down roughly 20% from last year .
Talking about NBA ratings is a slippery slope, for fear of sounding like antigay sports commentators who disingenuously gin up hysteria over the league’s viewership to prove a political point. The most likely explanation for the subpar interest is where the Thunder and Pacers are located. They play in two of the league’s smallest markets.
There’s also the perpetual decline of broadcast television. Last month, streaming surpassed broadcast and cable viewing for the first time ever. Outside of the NFL and select events, people don’t watch live TV anymore.
NBA Finals ratings don’t occur in a vacuum. They’re part of industrywide trends. But here at Queerty, we are not an industry rag.
We push the gay agenda! So we will entertain the discussion: “Is SGA’s face just not… memorable enough?”
That sentence sounds absurd, given SGA’s dynamic play on the court and bold style off of it. He turns heads the moment he enters the arena, and that’s before he slices through the Pacers defense. SGA is averaging a whopping 39 points per game through five contests, and the Thunder are one win away from capturing their first NBA title.
His fashion sense matches his eye-popping crossovers. Named GQ‘s most stylish man of the year, SGA has walked in Paris Men’s Fashion Week and works as a model for Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS.
“It was a dream come true,” he told Vogue about his runway debut for the avant-garde Thom Browne in 2023.
As a testament to his fashion influence, SKIMS signed a deal to become the NBA’s official underwear party following his campaign.
As stunning as SGA’s lewks may be, NBA stars don’t wear designer items while they’re playing. The uniform is egalitarian: shorts and a tank top.
The correlation between an athlete’s physical appeal and their popularity is well established. Quarterbacks are usually the most idolized player on the team, and considered the most attractive.
This past fall, we wrote about a gay football fan who selected his fantasy team solely based on looks, and built an outstanding roster.
Since the days of Michael Jordan, NBA superstars have asserted themselves as cultural trendsetters. Allen Iverson, who SGA mirrors on the court, wasn’t just an all-time great. He was cool.
When it comes to icons like MJ, Kobe Bryant and LeBron, their on-court tenacity feeds into the perception of their style. Consider it a “halo effect” of sorts (QBs, who are on-field CEOs, benefit from the “halo effect” as well).
Along similar lines, maybe an NBA star’s aura is more important than their physical characteristics alone. Jordan, who stands at 6-foot-6, was a beast. He was a maniacal winner who showed no mercy to his opponents, and played like a man possessed. MJ shaved his head at 30 and it just… worked.
Getting back to the Larry Bird example, nobody would call the Celtics legend an attractive guy. With long features and pasty skin, the “Hick from French Lick” looked goofy.
But on the court, he was unstoppable, and the most ruthless trash-talker ever. The contrast was striking, just like his automatic 3-point shot.
With the NBA MVP and Western Conference Finals MVP already secured, Gilgeous-Alexander is one win away from completing arguably the greatest NBA season ever. History indicates his incredible play will eventually elevate him into another stratosphere.
But for now, the “lookism theory” may just put him one notch below.
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