Many NBA players treat their gameday walks into the arena as a fashion show of sorts. It provides a great opportunity for guys to showcase some hot outfits as cameras capture them strutting into the arena.
But the Portland Trail Blazers treated that pregame entrance a little differently prior to Monday night's game against the Washington Wizards. The Blazers decided to embrace the spirit of Halloween and show at the arena in costume. The results were tremendous.
Damian Lillard may have stolen the show with his strong Stone Cold Steve Austin getup that included a mask, a 3:16 shirt and even a championship belt for good measure. He brought it all together with a cocky wrestler's walk.
Check @Dame_Lillard walking into the arena tonight @steveaustinBSR pic.twitter.com/ThPGf7rkGS
— Nate Jones (@JonesOnTheNBA) October 23, 2018
And that’s the bottom line, because @Dame_Lillard said so. pic.twitter.com/JvIMyoVkJQ
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 23, 2018
But Lillard wasn't the only Portland player who delivered a great costume for the occasion. There were a wiiiiide variety of looks as the Blazers showed up on Monday night, but some other winners were Jusuf Nurkic as The Beast from "Beauty and The Beast," Maurice Harkless as Tyrone Biggums from "Chappelle's Show" and Jake Layman as a giant penguin. (You can check out a full gallery of photos here.)
🏀 vs @WashWizards
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 23, 2018
📍 @ModaCenter
⌚️6 p.m. Trail Blazers Outsiders > https://t.co/zsMeDPzXDf
⏰ 7 p.m.
📺 @NBCSNorthwest pic.twitter.com/8Gft3SUzs2
The rookies, however, clearly have some learning to do.
Rookie Halloween costumes 😂👻 @AnferneeSimons @gtrentjr pic.twitter.com/oA65CIc2AP
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 22, 2018
More teams need to follow the Blazers' lead and embrace Halloween in this fashion. We all deserve to get a look at the creative costumes that can come from of it. Hell, I'll even go so far as to say the NBA should allow a fully sanctioned Halloween costume game once per year.