‘I feel good wearing it’: Raptors’ Gary Trent Jr. shows off his fashion-stopping moments off the court

In basketball there is nothing quite like seeing a nice dunk, hearing the swish of a three-pointer, or seeing a player dish out an assist for a beautiful basket. At points in the game, it is like a beautiful work of art that the players are making right before our eyes.

In the last four games for the Toronto Raptors Gary Trent Jr. has scored 20-plus points in a season-high four straight games. In the Raptors’ last two games, he has led the team in points pouring in 32 against Indiana on Monday night and 35 against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 30, 2022.

The guard has been making his mark on the court for years. In his one season with Duke, he set the Blue Devils freshman record for threes made in a single season with 97. He was sent to the Raptors midseason in March of 2021 for Norman Powell from the Portland Trail Blazers, and in his first full season with the Raptors in 2021-2022 he tied the franchise record set by DeMar DeRozan for scoring 30-plus points in a career-high five straight games. According to the Raptors, he also made at least five three-pointers in a franchise-record five straight games (Jan. 25 – Feb. 1, 2022) during this stretch.

There are moments of the game where you can see a bit of his personality shine when he moves the ball or takes a shot, but beyond the court, or sometimes even courtside, Trent Jr. is expressing himself through his style. For some fans, they wait with great anticipation to see what the 23-year-old who will turn 24 on Jan. 18 will wear pre-game.

Sports reporter Lindsay Dunn had Trent Jr. break down some of his show-stopping moments away from the court.

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The early days “Baby Gary”

“I think this was Easter Sunday for church or my auntie’s graduation that we went to. It was just a clean undershirt with the black T-shirt, keeping it simple, with the dark blue suit. It was cool, I was feeling it with that pose.”

Bubble fashion

July – August 2020

For almost a month Trent Jr. was in the “NBA Bubble” in Walt Disney World near Orlando, Fla., when the league resumed play during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The players lived in a hotel away from friends and family so the league could try and finish the 2019-2020 NBA season.

“It was different. You would put a fit on and wear it to the arena and then go back to your room. I just came clean and wore whatever the weather permitted, it was in Orlando so I was just having fun with it.”

Welcome to the Raptors

April 2022

“I picked this outfit out from top to bottom. There is nothing, no fit that I could work with or have somebody tell me what to put on besides myself. Nobody can see the vision how I see the vision and I understand people got stylists. But I can’t let somebody else tell me what to wear. So that’s all off the top of the head.”

“You know I was just trying to be super clean with a little sex appeal and everything that comes with it. It’s fashion,” Trent Jr. says with a smile.

“A lot of people are trying to say it’s the Lenny Kravitz look because my shirt was open and all that, but it’s not. It’s whatever I was feeling that day.”

New York state of mind

Dec. 21, 2022

“Really it’s whatever I feel comfortable in that day. I found this in a store not too long ago with the glasses and I knew it was a perfect look. I liked the way it felt, and I felt comfortable in the look, and I feel good wearing it.”

When in Philly …

Dec. 19, 2022

“Shout-out to Kensington Market for this. I got it at a thrift store in Kensington Market so shoutout to them they have all this nice little drip that you can find on the low.”

Passion for fashion

Where does he go for the perfect outfit?

“For the most part, it’s just wherever. It can be online, in a thrift shop in a mall, in a designer store, in Kensington Market, and find something. I just go all over the place and find what I can.”

What’s old is new again?

Does Gary ever wear the same thing twice?

“Oh I am always going to wear my clothes more than once, they are too expensive not to wear more than once,” Trent Jr. says with a laugh.

… With one exception

In the [Prada] bag

Feb. 1, 2022

“I probably wore that around one time and now it’s décor in the house.”

Designer secrets

Many players in the league enjoy the moments off the court where they can express themselves through style, but do they talk about it with each other?

“We don’t always talk basketball 24/7. You know anytime I wear something a couple of guys will ask where did I get it from. What is it? I just get up and wear whatever I can, whatever I wake up and put on.”

BONUS

Boogie nights

While Trent Jr. is styling and profiling on and off the court from time to time, a great video has been circulating of another skill he has: dancing. When he was a rookie with the Portland Trail Blazers, he had to dance at half-court as part of his rookie initiation.

“We had do to that our rookie year and dance in front of the entire arena,” Trent Jr. says, somewhat blushing to watch the video.

“I do have some rhythm. I can move with it, flow with it, have fun with it. But that’s for another day.”

I finally was able to ask Gary Trent jr. about his moves off the court. It resulted in an impromptu dance lesson. #Raptors #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/7Duua4binM

— Lindsay Dunn (@LindsayDunnTV) January 3, 2023

The Raptors’ next home game is on Jan. 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks. You can watch it on Sportsnet.