Thursday 27 December 2012

NBA teammates' ugly Christmas sweaters

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul dabble in ironic clothing (via @MadelynBurke).
With the possible exception of Independence Day, Christmas has the most celebration-specific clothing of any holiday. There are Santa-themed pants, shorts, and the sort of sexy outfits usually only seen on Halloween.
However, the Christmas sweater is the king of them all. During the holiday season, you're likely to see someone in a goofy jumper depicting reindeer, snowflakes, Santa, the Baby Jesus, or snowmen. It is a tradition of the holiday, just like eating figgy pudding, trimming the tree, and arguing with your extended family.
[Related: Lakers starting to find form with Christmas victory over Knicks]
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Clippers celebrated their high-profile home game against the Denver Nuggets by breaking out their finest Yuletide sweaters. Above, check out stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin at their postgame press conference. After the jump, take a look at more photos of those players and their teammates (all via @MadelynBurke).
Ronny Turiaf expresses joy on all days, not just Christmas (via @MadelynBurke).
Reserve center Ronny Turiaf came strong with a sweater full of Christmas mascots, including trees and even hearts. Given the bears near the bottom, I assume it's a vintage Polo Ralph Lauren number. Who knew Turiaf was a 'Lo Head?

Willie Green and Chris Paul laugh about their ugly sweaters (via @MadelynBurke).
Here's Paul again, in the same outfit, which is certainly fine but perhaps a little too familiar. Yes, that familiarity may come from our aunts and grandmas, but it is still something we've seen before.
[Related: Watch college ballers butcher Christmas carols]
The real winner here is guard Willie Green, whose sweater is my personal favorite. Like Turiaf, he opted for multiple symbols of the holiday, but there's also no clear pattern, red trim, and a mix of the secular and the religious. In other words, it makes no sense, which is what ugly sweaters should be.
Blake Griffin explains the ugly sweater joke to DeAndre Jordan (via @MadelynBurke).
For the record, this is a completely different outfit from the one Blake Griffin wore after the game, so it's pretty clear that he was really into this idea and probably came up with it himself. Honestly, his takes are a little unimaginative for my tastes — that buffalo plaid vest is a GQ-approved wardrobe piece — but there is no arguing with his passion. This moment would not have happened without his hard work.
[Related: Linsanity among top five NBA stories of 2012]
The less said about DeAndre Jordan the better. Fair Isle patterns are very in these days, and from this vantage he did not appear to go all out in his display of Christmas cheer.
By the way, the Clippers also played a basketball game and dominated the Nuggets for their 14th consecutive win and sole ownership of the NBA's best record. But I think we can all agree that these sweaters are the real story here.

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