Fashion forwards: James sets trend with shorts suit; ball in rival Green's court to one-up

Before Game 2 of the NBA Finals, there was one question on fashion followers’ minds: Would Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James again wear the gray Thom Browne shorts suit he wore to Game 1? The answer was yes, and he had some company on the Warriors when it came to knee-revealing ensembles.

In what could easily be a strategy out of any high school in-crowd flick, Warriors forward Draymond Green also wore a shorts suit pregame, exactly the kind of unnerving fashion strategy any “Mean Girl” or “Heather” who has ever upstaged a rival in an identical prom dress knows knows only too well.

This time, James accessorized his look by Browne with red socks, white-and-gray Nike high-top sneakers, dark sunglasses and a pullover hoodie also by the designer. Gone was the $41,000 crocodile Mr. Thom bag from Game 1, replaced by a more modest cloth gym bag, also by Browne.

Green’s shorts suit was Caribbean blue with a dark stripe down the side; the designer is unknown.

After James wore his shorts suit before Game 1, Green took credit for being an originator of the menswear trend during a media session on Saturday.

“I started that trend a long time ago,” Green told reporters. “I wore shorts last year. Go check the pictures. I see a lot of people talking ‘Oh man, he’s got shorts,’ but I’ve seen a lot of people doing it.”

Green previously wore black evening shorts with an aqua dinner jacket by Saint Laurent to the NBA Awards in 2017. Browne has been designing his signature shorts suits since he started his menswear brand in 2001 — the look made a noticeable comeback on other men’s runways beginning around spring 2014.

James’ teammates arriving on the first Cavaliers bus to Oracle Arena also wore Thom Browne suits, a gift from James to the team in April, but James was again the only Cavalier to wear the more fashion-forward shorts version.

Personal style variations on the gray-and-charcoal suits worn by the Cavaliers included differences in shoes, with both formal shoes and brogue boots by Browne and sneakers from other brands seen on the players. Several players further accessorized with sunglasses and Beats headphones. No other Warriors were reported arriving in shorts suits.

Was Green’s shorts suit an attempt at a little psychological fashion warfare with James?

The players are reportedly friendly off-court, even if a confrontation between the two led to Green’s Game 5 suspension in the 2016 Finals. It also wouldn’t be the first time Green trolled James with his wardrobe. During the Warriors’ 2017 championship parade, Green wore a shirt that said “Quickie” — a reference to the swiftness of the five-game Finals series between the Warriors and Cavs, and also a joke on Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavaliers’ home base.

James responded to Green’s shirt via Instagram with a picture of the shirt captioned: “That’s what she said, HUH?!?!?”

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