Coordinated outfits among friends, family, couples and, in this case, teammates, are always both awkward and contrived, no matter how exquisitely tailored the fit or how hip and stylish the designer. And when it comes to professional athletes, they are also begging to be a target of scorn and ridicule.
Just ask the Washington Wizards, who wore matching black funereal suits before a late-January game against the Celtics last season, a stunt that of course backfired spectacularly when they proceeded to lose that game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers did something similar earlier this week when LeBron James gifted his teammates custom-made suits to wear prior to Game 3 against the Indiana Pacers, although in his defense the suits didn’t hold any ulterior meaning beside just being a nice gesture on the part of their team leader and a stylish look for one of their biggest games of the year.
Apparently, it wasn’t just a one-off thing because on Sunday, the Cavs once again arrived at the arena wearing matching suits, with Bron wearing custom Thom Browne Beats headphones to match the look (the X on the sides “are a symbol of both defiance and a nod to Beats by Dre’s 10-year anniversary,” via Apple).
Cavs suited up, again. (Black) pic.twitter.com/txw2CHJ9aQ
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) April 22, 2018
The Cavs, of course, lost Game 3 after blowing a 17-point lead to go down 2-1 in the series, but as Gob Bluth would say, “Yeah, right, like the guy in the $5,000 suit is gonna let something like that stop him from showing up to the next game wearing a $5,000 suit. Come on!”
Former Cavs guard Isaiah Thomas had a little fun with it the first time around, noting that LeBron had apparently fitted the team for those threads earlier in the season and jokingly wondering what happened to his own suit. Regardless of the outcome, the Cavs are going to arrive at the postgame press conference in style on Sunday.
