Part of the fun of watching the NBA is watching the outfits passing through the tunnel as the athletes arrive or leave the stadiums. One athlete in particular, Washington Wizards‘ Kyle Kuzma, has made a name for himself for his buzzy fits.

Amongst Kuz’s tunnel fits over the years, some of the pieces like his ginormous long-sleeved pink sweater and his Rick Owens puffer jacket stirred up the internet. The Raf Simons knit was an instant internet hit, prompting memes, jokes and comments from even his teammates like LeBron James at the time. Seemingly unfazed by any fashion criticism, Kuzma continued to be bold with his fits day-in, day-out. From all-red leather fits to a rainbow-striped open-knit cardigan and big silhouette fur coats, Kuz has always brought the style. However, that is until the 2024-25 NBA season.

Earlier this week, Kuz announced that he would be retiring his tunnel fits. Speaking to Vogue, Kuz said, “I don’t want to be a part of that type of community where you have to put on a fit. I’m really taking a backseat to all of that.” While he recalls the past and explains that he was “a pretty evident person within the tunnel years ago,” he longer wants the title after noticing pressures that players put on themselves for standing out. He said, “I can speak from experience that when you’re a younger player, you don’t want to wear the same thing twice. A lot of times we get played into thinking, ‘Hh, we gotta switch it up, we gotta buy something new.’ And now we’re just buying clothes to impress people or to stand out. It’s ludicrous.”

Kuz’s game-day fashion will see a switch. The upcoming game-days will see Kuz lean into sweats and essentials. He shared that he is part of a creative studio that works on these “essential core pieces.” While he admits that he still loves fashion and clothes, he shared that when it comes to fashion, “It’s gotten a lot more sophisticated. Like with wine, it always gets better as the years go on if you have the right vintage. And I feel like that is with my fashion too. I was really heavy into street wear, but would also put on some nice, dressy suits, even as a younger player. Now I’ve truly made my own aesthetic, and I feel true to myself. That takes time.” As for the current state of tunnel fits, Kuz explains, “The tunnel used to be a way to really express yourself, but now everything is so monetized and commercialized. People have stylists; people are buying clothes to wear once, or brands or sending clothes. Where’s the individuality in that? Or the creativeness? Everything’s out of whack. I feel like even the people that follow NBA fashion are like, ‘This is too much.’”