Last night, the Knicks won Game 5 of the conference finals against the Indiana Pacers. A photo surfaced of two of the Knicks most famous, and sartorially effusive, superfans, Timothée Chalamet and Spike Lee, high-fiving courtside. Chalamet sported a custom Knicks letterman jacket and jeans, both of which were dusted with orange and blue Chrome Hearts crosses. Lee was wearing a striped knee-length blazer and pant set and a corresponding fedora. Everything was orange and blue, down to the eyewear. They love their hometown team, and they have the fits to prove it.
Chalamet grew up in Hell’s Kitchen, a midtown neighborhood in Manhattan. He’s a long-devoted Knicks fan, attending games, and wearing merch, since he was a child. Photos have circulated the internet showing Chalamet, age 14, with former Knicks player Landry Fields after winning a pair of tickets in 2010. Now an A-List actor, he sits courtside, where he’s been upping the fashion ante in tandem with heavy photographic documentation—you decide chicken versus egg. But the looks prove a dedication that goes beyond that of the average celebrity fan.
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It’s obvious that the Oscar-nominated actor (alongside his stylist Taylor McNeill) has done his fashion homework. Each outfit is a love note to both the Knicks and NYC culture. Chalamet walks into the popular East Village vintage store Mr. Throwback, specializing in sports merch, with ultra-specific requests like a particular 1999 Eastern Conference Champions cap. Custom Chrome Hearts is in heavy rotation. The hyped luxury brand was adopted by rappers like Drake, Travis Scott, and Lil Wayne in the early 2000s and 2010s, as evidenced by a photo of Jay-Z—sitting courtside—at a 2005 All-Star game. It’s often worn by NBA players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Now, Chalamet has extended the brand’s life cycle with a smattering of orange and blue crosses, the brand’s signature but in Knicks colors, on much of what he wears to games.
Timberlands too have always been important visual markers within hip-hop culture, sports,, and New York City styles. Chalamet has paid homage to the iconic boots, sporting his own pair of custom Chrome Hearts Timberlands, embellished with the brand’s signature cross, but in Knicks’ orange and blue. Ian Pierno, producer of LeagueFits in tandem with SLAM Media Inc., notes that his Instagram comment section went wild for Tim’s Timbs with fans giving Chalamet credit for his authenticity. “They were like, ‘Wow, he even has his Timbs tied up correctly.” (The actor has previously exhibited his devotion to the sartorial craft with niche references throughout his recent A Complete Unknown press tour.)
los angeles, california march 06: spike lee (l) and timothee chalamet attend a basketball game between the los angeles lakers and the new york knicks at crypto.com arena on march 06, 2025 in los angeles, california. note to user: user expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the getty images license agreement. (photo by allen berezovsky/getty images)
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Chalamet’s predecessor Lee has been using fashion as a means to declare his unyielding support of the Knicks for decades; he essentially invented this eccentric expression of NBA fandom through dress. A supporter since his own New York childhood in the ‘60s, he’s documented wearing Knicks jerseys courtside throughout the ‘80s until today, and the ‘fits have only gotten more elaborate. He has worn all kinds of custom jerseys, hard-to-get merch, and colorful homages to his team. He even wore a blue and orange striped zoot suit on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet this month and he donned a Knicks hat to this year’s Met Gala celebrating Black Dandyism. “Anytime Spike Lee is courtside, it's going to be orange and blue. He's going to have some sort of collab that no one's ever had before,” says Chad Brown of NBA Fashion Fits. “Spike Lee has been the number one guy courtside for as long as I can remember.”
Paparazzi have documented NBA celebrity cameos for decades, but courtside style has often had more of a sheen to it, particularly at its tabloid-fueled pinnacle in the 2000s and 2010s. Celebrities sat so close to the players they could see their sweat, while dripping in luxury themselves. At a New York Knicks and Portland Trailblazers game in 2009, Rihanna wore a cropped T-Shirt, ultra high-rise trousers, a leather newsboy cap, and heels. At a Knicks and New Jersey Nets game in 2012, Beyoncé wore a yellow blazer, skinny jeans, and platform stilettos, while her husband Jay-Z was dressed in a simple sweater and, of course, Timbs. “If you're sitting courtside, you're always going to go and put on something to try to impress.” In these photos, ripe for tabloid fodder, allegiances are hard to deduce.
denver february 20: (l r) kelly rowland, michelle williams, jay z, and beyonce knowles attend the 2005 nba all star game at the pepsi center on february 20, 2005 in denver, colorado. (photo by mark mainz/getty images)
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Now, those courtside snaps are transmitted instantly via social media. Pierno says photos of young celebrity NBA attendees like Chalamet and Knicks fan Bad Bunny receive as much engagement as the newly lauded player tunnel walks, which have become their own de facto runways in recent years. “[Chalamet and Bad Bunny] have been a main priority, as far as coverage goes fashion-wise, for the Knicks playoff run.” According to lore, Bad Bunny swooped the aforementioned elusive Knicks cap after Mr. Throwback sourced it for Chalamet, though the latter declined to comment on the story. Comment sections love dedication like that.
“I don't think there's been another person to grasp pop culture in the way that he has been doing it with his courtside fits,” says Brown. He’s tapping into subcultures in a way that’s difficult to do when there’s a new trend everyday. Some even say he’s referencing Adam Sandler’s very New York character Howard Ratner in the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems, which Chalamet has publicly lauded. “Even though Lee will be at the games and wearing something completely genuine to himself, something that's probably super exclusive, I feel like it doesn't connect with the younger audience as much as Chalamet does.” Same devotion, fewer Easter eggs.
new york, new york may 16: bad bunny, center, and timothée chalamet, right, look on in the first quarter of game six of the eastern conference second round nba playoffs between the new york knicks and the boston celtics at madison square garden on may 16, 2025 in new york city. note to user: user expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the getty images license agreement. (photo by al bello/getty images)
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Last night, Chalamet and girlfriend Kylie Jenner once again sat courtside. While Chalamet was dripping in custom orange and blue Chrome Hearts, Jenner wore a white tee, leather pants, and sleek stilettos, Cartier watch on display. LeagueFits didn’t even bother with Jenner, who boasts upwards of 390 million followers on Instagram, on its grid, instead documenting Chalamet and Lee. Every comment, though, exults Chalamet. “Timmy fitssss be going crazyyyy,” one reads. Another, “T Chalamet with the Chrome Heartattack fit sheeesh.” The consensus? “Timothee the best dressed knick rn.”