white guy. I used to watch his basketball tapes when I was young, and he was one of the best ball-handlers ever. And he was really flamboyant and there’s actually a photo that I found, and he has a butterfly collar on, and glasses on, and a suit, and a chain with his name on it. I’m like, wow, this is really reflective of how he played. So I like when the fashion seems to represent a person’s personality or character. Who are some of your favorite players in terms of their personal style? I like LeBron because I think he dresses like who he is in the world — again, a repre- sentation of his personality. He knows that he’s the face of the league, and he dresses like that. I think a really great example is the suit he wore the night he broke Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar’s) scoring record. I also like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was voted most fashionable man in the world by GQ two years running. So that’s a big thing: As an athlete, he was chosen over the Hollywood people. But I also like his cousin, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who’s less flashy than Shai, and also not a huge star, but has great style. And I like D’Angelo Russell in L.A., who’s like a preppy guy, but preppy with flash, which I appreciate. What kind of feedback have you received about “Fly”? I’ve gotten really great feedback. I’ve actually been contacted by the NBA, who sent it around to all the teams. I don’t know who on the teams has it, but I’ve been contacted by a lot of people in the league — GMs, owners, a couple players. For me, the greatest thing was seeing Dr. J and Iceman Gervin holding the book and appreciating the book. A friend of mine knows them and gave a book to Dr. J, so that was the ulti- mate for me. How did you end up at ASU? Because of Natalie Diaz, who’s a great poet and a friend. She and I actually won Pulitzers the same year together, but I knew her before that. She’s one of my favorite poets. She explained to me how great ASU was. It really wasn’t me buying into Arizona, it was me buying into Natalie and coming to live in Phoenix. The school is great, my colleagues are great. I’m still learning my way around Phoenix, learning where to go, still learning which restaurants I like. The shopping is surpris- ingly great. I spend a lot of time at Fashion Square. I have some good things to say about being a Phoenician. ‘Fly’ Fashion from p 16 Dennis Rodman Kobe Bryant
