Tyler Kolek is a professional basketball player that was named Big East Player of the Year in 2023, NCAA Assists Leader in 2024, and now a Point Guard for the New York Knicks, a team he won his first NBA Championship with this year. While he started making more noise near the end of this last NBA season, he’s been quietly making serious waves as someone with one of the best fashion styles in the league.
Tyler has a very casual approach to menswear that pushes the boundaries of how NBA players usually dress, bringing a more laid back approach to his tunnel fits, and that’s what makes his style so interesting.
In today’s letter, I linked up with Tyler to talk to him about his day-to-day style, his love for UGG, his favorite player tunnel outfits, and more!
SNL: What does your typical day-off outfit look like?
Tyler: A white t-shirt is always a classic, some good denim, and a good pair of loafers. What I’m loving right now is Dries van Noten, they got these kind of boot like shoes that have been good to me, but if I’m going to practice I’m wearing my UGGs.
You were recently in an UGG campaign wearing the Shep Loafers. What is it about the brand that made you gravitate towards working with them?
Yeah, I felt like it was a part of my wardrobe way before we ever worked together. I was wearing what do you call not the loafer type, but a similar type house shoe, there was no back to it. In college, I forget the name, but I had the all fur with the back that’s kind of like a like a clog almost. (UGG Tasman Slipper). That’s been my go to since college. Just jump out of bed, throw those on, head to practice, just for comfortability and stuff.
What are the chances that we might see you wearing UGGs in the tunnel next season?
Definitely, yeah, I mean, they don’t just do the shoes, they have all the outerwear, some hoodies, and stuff like that. So I’m definitely looking forward to being able to mix it into my game day outfits.
Last NBA season you became known for your tunnel outfits, with some outlets even calling you a tunnel-fit star. Did this come as a surprise to you?
I mean, for sure. I think how quickly and how frequently people were taking notice to it was surprising. Normally these things, it takes time to build up to, and I feel like I kind of jumped on the scene maybe halfway through the year and kind of took off from there. I work with a good stylist (Olivier Rogers) who puts me in the right things, who puts me in the right rooms, to have the right people see me. So it’s been good.
Is there any sort of pressure going into next season to come correct with the fits?
Yeah, I don’t know about pressure. I think it’s more fun than anything. Fun and exciting to see what I can do this year. Obviously, last year was a good step in the right direction in that department. But you know, this year coming up we’ll have a full season to kind of build on what we did last year and see how far we can take it. For sure.
Do you have any personal favorite NBA players in terms of great tunnel fits?
Yeah. I feel like a lot of NBA players styles are very similar. Um, definitely my style does not fit the NBA player category. But I feel like somebody who I definitely got inspiration from this past year was on our team, because I see it every game, obviously, was Landry Shamet.
Just because he’s got that, when he walks in, you don’t know if he’s an NBA player, a businessman, a real estate guy. He’s just always has classic, always timeless looks. I feel like that’s something I go for is timeless statement pieces that are more subtle than anything. It’s kind of like everybody’s asking, what is that? What is he wearing? It doesn’t scream in your face. It’s kind of silent luxury.
In a recent interview, Olivier mentioned that he basically 360’d your wardrobe. How was that experience?
Yeah, I don’t know about 360. I think we kind of took bits and pieces from what he likes, from what I like. I obviously trust his vision and his direction fully, and that’s why I feel like we’re at this point. But I feel like me as a person, I like to do what I like to do in all aspects of life, not just what I put on and what I wear on a daily basis. So just implementing some of my points of view as well was definitely something.
We have a good relationship back and forth because he always says I’m questioning him, and then we have a good banter about it, which is healthy. You want somebody that challenges me, I challenge him. It’s only going to make us better in the end.
We’re there any times where Olivier presented you with a style or look that you didn’t really feel at all?
There’s been a lot of those. I think his style is different. His personal style, which he kind of builds off of for me is not my exact…he goes a little bit louder, a little more color. But now since we’ve been working together and having these healthy conversations through that, he knows now to maybe start off with like you said, he’ll bring something to me and I’ll kind of turn it down. But now he kind of knows where my vision is that in the way that I want to take it and he kind of curates his vision to that.
Being a professional athlete requires you to be in the gym constantly. Do you find that you have to change certain clothes because the fit of them is no longer the same?
It’s not, I would say, the body composition is not changing so drastically. If you’re already in shape, if you’re playing, you’re going to stay in shape and you’re going to stay the same. The only thing is maybe the shoulders and the arms of the shirts, stuff like that. But I feel like in my personal wardrobe, I’m not wearing super tight fitting things anyway, so if I size up or size down, things will still look pretty similar because of the outline and the silhouette that I like to go with.
Is there anything that you have on your clothing wishlist that you’re trying to get right now?
There’s a lot. I mean, my number one is definitely, I would say vintage Bottega. I love what they were doing in the 90s with their jackets and stuff like that. I love it. Actually, I love their new stuff and their old stuff. It’s definitely one of my favorite brands right now.
