Hoops Style Through the Years

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Aug 25, 2009

Hoops Style Through the Years

Manute Bol and Muggsy Bogues

During their one season together in 1987-88, the tallest (Bol) and shortest (Bogues) men to ever play in the NBA combined for 2,764 minutes played, 569 points and three magazine covers.

Dr. J's Afro

Julius Erving was a hair-raising player in both the ABA (for the Nets) and NBA (for the Sixers). Here, Erving drives against the Nuggets in 1976.

Rec specs

They were worn by Horace Grant, James Worthy (right) and other NBA players, but former Lakers forward and current Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis (left) is the patron saint of basketball eyewear.

Marquette's "Tails-Out" Jerseys in the 1970s

Marquette coach Al McGuire made a fashion statement when he hired Medalist Industries, then a small Wisconsin-based uniform company, to produce a jersey that featured untucked jerseys with MARQUETTE running across the bottom hem rather than the traditional spot on the chest. According to the <i>Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel</i>, star forward Bo Ellis was taking fashion-design courses at Mount Mary College at the time and suggested the idea to McGuire.

Chuck Taylors

Known as both Chuck Taylor All-Stars and Converse All-Stars, "Chucks" were first produced in 1917 as the "All-Star." They became popular when basketball player Charles "Chuck" H. Taylor adopted them as his preferred shoe.

High knee socks

Jazz star Adrian Dantley personified cool with his high-knee socks. He wasn't alone. Tube socks made the players and the teams back in the '60s, with Jerry West and the Lakers rocking the sandwich-stripes (purple stripes in between blocks of yellow and white) while the Celtics wore the all-whites with green stripes near the knee.

Short shorts

The 1980s fashion style included short shorts, as sported here by Georgia Tech's Mark Price and Bruce Dalrymple and Cheryl Miller of USC.

Phi Slamma Jamma

Phil Slamma Jamma was the catchy nickname for the University of Houston men's basketball team in the early '80s. The team featured high-flying dunkers Clyde Drexler, Larry Micheaux, Benny Anders, Michael Young and Akeem (now Hakeem) Olajuwon. The Cougars made the Final Four each year between 1982 and 1984, but lost the 1983 championship game to N.C. State and the 1984 finale to Georgetown.