Kyle Kuzma is a man of many fits. The basketball star has never been afraid of a big sartorial swing, and there are years of NBA tunnel looks to prove it: red leather overalls, giant fur coats, and, of course, the giant pink Raf Simons sweater seen ’round the world. But that was before Kuzma—perhaps one of the league’s most adventurous dressers—essentially announced, in 2024, that he was stepping away from the supercharged pre-game catwalk. His declaration became major news in NBA fashion circles.
And sure enough, since then, Kuzma has downshifted into a quieter mode of dressing—albeit one that’s no less intentional, or less packed with high-grade fashion.
Over the past 12 months, Kuzma has embraced a more minimalist palette with ease. Relative to his kooky garments of yore, his outfits now read as calm, tonal, and deliberate. He favors monochrome looks and grounded shades: olive, brown, the minimalist classics of black and white. The luxury is still there, just stripped of excess flash. (Don’t worry, though, he still sneaks in splashy moments from time to time.) This week, Kuz may have hit a high-water mark with an outfit that was simple, precise, and quietly potent.
Kyle Kuzma, wearing a pared-back selvedge jacket and dark jeans, on The Jennifer Hudson Show this week.
Warner Bros. TV/Getty Images
The look was for his appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, an engagement that comes with its own version of a high-profile tunnel walk. It’s the kind of outfit you imagine a designer wearing when they come out for a runway bow. A look that might be worn by your fashion insider’s favorite fashion insider. Kuzma wore a selvedge denim Type I jacket with the sleeves turned up—a subtle inversion of a style move we usually reserve for jeans. His black trousers hit the evergreen sweet spot: neither too slim nor too slouchy, offering just enough drape without drifting into the oversized look of the moment. The winning combination of accessories—the oval glasses and the cap, the jewelry, the watch—adds texture without noise. Everything is restrained, but elevated. And then, like any good menswear guy, he was wearing a pair of the divisive yet enduring Margiela Tabis. What can I say other than a man in Tabis is always making a bold choice.
Kuzma in 2022, wearing his infamous Raf Simons sweater.
Courtesy of Kyle Kuzma / @kuz and Toreno Winn / @toreno__
What makes this look—and dozens of others from this NBA season—work is that Kuzma is clearly a certified fashion head. You can tell he loves getting dressed. And he hasn’t abandoned maximalism entirely. This is, after all, a man who recently dressed head to toe in Bottega Veneta’s intrecciato leather—woven leather pants, top, bag, and bucket hat included. When he wears a Canadian tuxedo, the denim is from the beloved Japanese label Kapital and features contrast indigo sashiko stitching. There have been other fashiony, clued-in motifs: Chrome Hearts beanies, Enfants Riches Déprimés sweatshirts, Loewe bags, and Rick Owens sneakers.
Speaking to the writer Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson in December, Kuzma described his evolution towards fashion minimalism as “a personal choice. Moreso, just maturing. That’s all. Mature swag!” This, he explained, meant focusing more on shape than flash: “It’s more of a personal touch than anything. I like playing with silhouettes. So I try to play with the proportion of my body to the clothes, if that makes sense.”
Just because Kuzma is no longer donning meme-worthy Raf sweaters doesn’t mean he’s afraid of high-octane designer clothes. And that’s the lesson here. Don’t be afraid of taking a big swing from time to time. See what works and what doesn’t for you. Then edit down and recalibrate. If you’re lucky, you come out the other side with something sharper and more straightforward—a better and refreshed version of your personal style, forged directly from your own fashion past.