Feeling Good Is Worth The Price For Rockets’ P.J. Tucker

In the few moments that it will take Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker to walk from his vehicle or the team bus into the locker room, the stylish Tucker is certain to be showcased regularly on game nights on BR Kicks, Complex, More Than Stats, League Fits, UpScale Hype and the various other social media channels dedicated to covering athlete footwear and fashion. Tucker, known on the court for his rugged defense, three-point shooting, and high energy has become one of the mainstays and most recognizable athletes in all of sports in the athlete culture and fashion space. Athletes have also become influential off-the court, due to their personal style, rare limited sneakers, high-end fashion and branding, which has become really popular to fans and their followers.

As he enters the arena with a pair of highly-coveted sneakers for game use in his left hand and a Starbucks extra hot Venti vanilla chai latte in his right, Tucker is casually draped in some of his favorite designers during the season; ranging from Tom Ford, to Bode, Jay Kos, Sacai, or Pyer Moss. It all depends on what he’s feeling when his day begins.

The brief walk to get changed, taped and loosened up before hitting the court used to be a formality. Due to social media, fashion blogs and the NBA’s global popularity, now more than ever fans are focused on what the athletes are wearing, which has now become a mini-runway with some players going to great lengths of employing stylists and personal photographers to have each of their game-day outfits selected and captured throughout the season.

“That’s insane to me,” says Tucker. “There’s no way I could ever do that. I don’t even know what I want to wear, so I couldn’t have anyone telling me what to wear.”

While speaking to Tucker before leaving his hotel room during a recent road game, he had already changed his mind several times on what he had intended to wear when he packed his luggage for their current road trip. If you see P.J. fixated on his phone, there's a high probability he's scrolling across social media or on the Vogue app, cycling through previous seasons from his favorite designers. Before social media gave him this level of accessibility, Tucker was going through magazines and visiting the mall himself to see what was new and in style. 

Tucker, a starter and 14 year NBA veteran has been like this way before he was universally recognized as the NBA’s Undisputed Sneaker King. News of him re-signing with Nike made huge news as the announcement of his new deal seemed just as important to the culture as any big named signature athlete. For someone who would save up all the money he could in high school to purchase a $500 Coogi sweater, what you see now is pure authenticity, personal style and not a show for photo ops by any means.

“I used to literally spend every dime I had on clothes, shoes and getting fresh, he says. “For me — not having much money back then — I might not have had this or that, but I’m going to look good. It’s always been about looking and feeling good.” 

While playing overseas professionally in Europe, Tucker was heavily exposed to high-end fashion brands. He was stunned to see that there were discounted warehouses that sold exclusive pieces from some of the world’s most expensive designers. He also fell in love with what a suit represents. He particularly remembers an arena janitor who would wear a suit into work before putting on his work uniform. “I thought that was the coolest thing ever because that’s taking your job seriously,” he says. “It’s just a different way of going about business over there.”

Tucker is now a veteran fixture at Milan, Paris and New York Fashion Weeks is one of the most known Influential athletes known for their style . While at Fashion Week he picks a few shows and events that he wants to attend and enjoys himself rather than spreading himself too thin over each event. Over the years he's developed friendships and relationships with industry insiders, designers, and creative directors that will go far beyond his playing days. He’s received custom one-of-one gifts from Donatella Versace which only begins to highlight how deep his fashion network has become. 

It’s always been about looking and feeling good

"That's what it's always been about for me," Tucker says. "It's not about what stuff I can get, its about understanding where things are coming from, how they are being designed and having conversations that range from what they’re seeing to what inspired them for their collection and what they have going on next."

P.J. also has been able to collaborate on various projects over the years, including a high end sneaker with designer Giuseppe Zanotti, a racing shirt sold at Neiman Marcus with Ovadia & Sons and will be collaborating with a notable brand on a travel bag that will release next month during NBA All-Star weekend. 

While Tucker has admitted to spending six figures on hunting down some of the most coveted sneakers in the world just to play in them, he couldn’t help himself from laughing when asked how much he’s dropped on his clothing in a year. “The focus is always on what's on my feet, but shoes don’t even come close to the clothes,” he says while laughing. “They’re a small fraction compared to the clothes. I really don’t know how much I spend on clothes. In a year? That’s just too tough to put a number on.”