NBA Fashion: From cornrows and tattoos to beards and bow ties
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7:17 AM EST, Wed December 9, 2015
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The former "Big Three" of the Miami Heat -- (from L-R) Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James -- changed the face of NBA fashion when they teamed up in 2010.
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"That's what made it so fun, because it was competitive," Bosh says of his locker-room rivalry with Wade (left) and James (right.)
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Dennis Rodman was an NBA fashion pioneer, starting with his tattoos, piercings and colorful hair -- which took shape in the early 1990s, and evolved throughout the decade.
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Former New York Knicks legend Walt Frazier sported fur coats and fedora hats as a player, and has kept his sartorial standards high as a sideline announcer.
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Michael Jordan's shaved head and gold earring was a staple of the '90s NBA look.
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Latrell Sprewell (pictured with the New York Knicks in 1999) was known as much for his braided hair -- or cornrows -- as he was for his mercurial behavior on and off the court.
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Allen Iverson's cornrows and body art made waves when he came on the scene in the late 1990s. The NBA's flagship magazine once airbrushed his tattoos off its cover before apologizing for the gaff.
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Rodman's fashion sense took on a new realm while playing for the three-time champion Chicago Bulls from 1995 to 1998.
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Chris "Birdman" Andersen of the Miami Heat took Rodman's look a step further, introducing a mohawk and headband to accompany his body art and piercings.
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Brazilian Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers re-introduced the wild curls look from the 1970s when he entered the NBA in 2004.
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Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls has been sporting the Samurai top-knot look for years. Noah's father Yannick is a French former tennis champ known for his dreadlocks, and his mother was once Miss Sweden.
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James Harden of the Houston Rockets wears one of the most famous beards in U.S. sports.
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Bosh credits fellow big man Tyson Chandler of the Phoenix Suns for sparking his interest in fashion. Chandler, who is 7-foot 1-inch tall, sits with his daughter Sacha-Marie at the U.S. Open tennis tournament.
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Russell Westbrook (L) and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Kevin Durant played with different looks during the 2012 NBA Finals. Durant would often wear a backpack as a style accessory to press conferences.
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Westbrook has collaborated with department store Barneys for a line of clothes.
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Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks is one of the most dapper NBA players off the court.
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Though he's 6 foot 11 inches and 275 pounds, Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets sports tailor-made suits when he is not in the game.
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Chris Paul hires a stylist to make sure he's looking good enough to meet heads of state.
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Incoming rookies have turned the NBA Draft into a runway show. Bow-tied Myles Turner reacts after being selected 11th overall by the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2015 draft on June 25 in Brooklyn, New York.
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Karl-Anthony Towns (right, with league commissioner Adam Silver) requested a one-of-a-kind outfit to wear to the 2015 NBA Draft.
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Towns' stylist Calyann Barnett has also dressed Jahlil Okafor, the No. 3 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, who elected to go with a red-tux, bow-tie look.
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Matthew Chevallard, creator of Del Toro shoes, counts over 100 NBA players as clients. Here he is flanked by Blake Griffin (left) and Chandler Parsons (right).