Fly

July 31, 2023
Pulitzer winner Jackson (Survival Math) captures how NBA players have styled themselves over the decades in a visually appealing survey that sometimes falls short on substance. From 1946 to the present, Jackson spotlights hoopers whose style made waves, including “self-proclaimed hippie” Bill Walton’s shaggy hairstyle in the 1970s; Michael Jordan’s “capacious bespoke suits,” a look that seeped into mainstream fashion in the 1980s and ’90s; and Allen Iverson’s hip-hop–influenced diamond jewelry, “baggy jeans, and in-your-face body ink,” which stirred up public furor about the NBA’s “respectability” and in 2005 compelled commissioner David Stern to establish a “business casual” dress code at league events. Despite the book’s wealth of striking photos, Jackson misses a few opportunities, as when he gives short shrift to the way social justice issues and such movements as Black Lives Matter have shaped NBA fashion, and lets exultant descriptive writing (“envision Julius Erving swaggering outside the Nassau Coliseum in a cream-colored shirt and bell-bottom pants, the tint of Dr. J’s oversize sunglasses matching the burgundy of his leather lace-up shoes, the gold of his Casio wristwatch reflecting the tone of his pinkie ring”) overtake the stated goal of proving how “the story of clothing, fashion, and style in basketball over the past seventy-five years is also... the story of America.” It’s an eye-catching compendium that could have been more.

September 1, 2023

In prose as stylish as its subject, this love letter to basketball and its swanky superstars takes readers on a colorful ride through the sport's sartorial preeminence from the 1940s to the present. Novelist and Pulitzer Prize--winning feature writer Jackson (Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family) celebrates the legacies and individual personalities of these elite athletes--Wilt Chamberlain, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and many more--while illustrating how they were influenced by and also affected cultural history throughout the decades. The book's abundant photographs are a mix of candid and composed shots that are given full credit in the backmatter. Readers who don't have extensive knowledge of basketball and its biggest stars may feel the need to play catch-up at times due to the work's rapid-fire sports history references and nonstop name-dropping. However, true fans will relish the breadth and depth devoted to the game and its players' on- and off-court looks. The book places them in context with their eras' political and cultural climates. VERDICT A recommended purchase with crossover appeal for fans of basketball and contemporary fashion.--Shannon Titas

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.