NBA coaching dress evolution theory: Five years of change from formal wear to casual

On the 1988 NBA Finals stage between the Lakers and the Pistons, in addition to the peak showdown between Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas, another silent contest was staged on the sidelines - Lakers coach Pat Riley appeared on the cover of "GQ" twice in an Armani suit, and the Pistons' Chuck Daly won the nickname of "Rich Dad" with at least 100 customized suits. The finals of those years were not only a basketball feast, but also a fashionable catwalk on the sidelines. It was not until the 2020 bubble season that the NBA coach's dress aesthetics ushered in a complete change.

When the Indiana Pacers met the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of this year's Finals, Rick Carlisle and Mark Dagno coaching staff dressed hardly in any fashion magazine. The coaching teams of the two teams continued the style of the first two games: a quarter-zipper shirt with trousers, and this dress trend that has emerged since the bubble season has not yet shown signs of decline. According to Carlisle, president of the National Basketball Coaching Association, more than 85% of coaches have supported the preservation of this casual outfit in the past few years. "The association will listen to more than 200 members, including head coaches and assistant coaches, and the approval rating has been stable." The NBA clarified the dress code in a memo sent to each team in October 2024: male coaches need to wear sports jackets, quarter zipper shirts or collared shirts, paired with trousers or designer jeans, and sports shoes and sweatpants are prohibited. But in actual execution, the coaches prefer the uniformly distributed clothing of the team - the same zippered shirts of the Thunder and Pacers coaching team in the finals, which not only saves the hassle of packing away games, but also adds an overall feeling to the coaching team. This change is in line with the workplace trend in the post-epidemic era: across the United States, office dress is shifting from formal wear to comfort, and NBA coaches' side-court dress is a microcosm of this trend.

Not all coaches accept this "zipper shirt revolution". Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson is one of the few people who stick to tradition: "I prefer to wear suits, which is a symbol of professional status and it looks more formal on TV. My 14-year-old daughter always says she misses the suit era." Austin Rivers, the son of Bucks coach Doug Rivers and former NBA player, also holds a similar view: "When wearing a suit, the coach looks more authoritative and the atmosphere of the game is more solemn - look at the hockey coach, they all wear suits." But Rivers also admitted realistic considerations: "When you go on a two-week away trip, it is too convenient to have two pairs of trousers with zipper shirts. For practicality, don't change it back to suits for the time being."

NBA League Operations President Byron Sprouler called the current dress "improved version of the specification": "We are still satisfied with the status quo, but we cannot rule out the possibility of returning to formal dress in the future. In fact, coaches can also wear suits now, but everyone prefers casual styles." This flexibility is confirmed by coaches such as Bickstaff and Snyder: "Save time to match clothes and focus more on tactical arrangements. I would rather think about the tactics after the pause than worry about whether the shoes are fitted with belts."

From Riley's Armani suit to today's team zipper shirt, the essence of the dress changes of NBA coaches is a game between traditional ritual and modern practicality. When the Bubble season relaxed dress codes due to Florida's humid heat, no one expected this to be a long-term trend. But as Spruel said, whether to return to a suit is never an option - in the basketball world, what really determines the scenery on the sidelines is always the tactics drawn during pauses, not the costumes worn on the body.