NBA Star Bruce Brown Doesn't Just Dress Like a Cowboy—He Lives Like One, Too
StyleThe Raptors forward, who rocks ten-gallon hats in the tunnel, spent last summer on a ranch in Denver. “It was pretty fun separating cattle, pushing them out to pasture,” he tells GQ.By Alex Nino GheciuJanuary 10, 2025Photographs: Getty Images; Collage: Gabe ConteSave this storySaveSave this storySaveFor months now, Bruce Brown has been pulling up to Toronto Raptors games looking ready for a showdown at high noon. From ten-gallon cowboy hats to denim snap-front shirts to sharp-toed snakeskin boots, the small forward’s western flair is a wild ride off the beaten trail of NBA fashion, and it’s turning the heads of fans and LeagueFits admins alike. He is, without question, basketball’s best-dressed cattleman.But just how exactly did a guy who grew up in Boston and plays in Toronto wind up channeling a gunslinger straight out of Dutton Ranch?“Basically, this is me,” Brown tells GQ, following a recent Raptors practice. “Everybody knows I’m a city kid from Massachusetts, but I probably listen to the most country out of anybody.”Issac Baldizon/Getty ImagesDavid L. Nemec/Getty ImagesThe 28-year-old wants people to know this whole yeehaw sensibility isn’t a shtick. Brown has a home in Nashville and spent his last offseason on a ranch in Denver, riding horses and herding cattle. “I love dressing and being like this. And I don’t switch just because it’s the NBA season. If you see me in the summer, I’m still gonna be wearing a belt buckle, boots, jeans, and a hat.”In an era when tunnel fits are seemingly losing their luster, Brown striding in like a lone ranger has brought new energy to a dusty frontier. “I think everybody in the NBA kind of just wears the same stuff nowadays. Everybody’s wearing the same Balenciaga or other designer wear,” he says. “And I’m not a big designer guy.”Brown’s country obsession took root the summer after his rookie season in 2019, during a weekend trip to Nashville with friends. He caught a Luke Combs set at CMA Fest and was hooked instantly. “It’s just so different from the way I grew up,” he says. “At first, I didn’t like country music at all, but it started to grow on me the more I listened to it. And then that day it just hit. I started to go down the rabbit hole.”That same weekend, he tried on a cowboy hat. Something just clicked. “It felt great. I think it’s stuck ever since.”TORONTO, ON - DECEMBER 22: Bruce Brown #11 of the Toronto Raptors reacts from the bench as his team plays the Houston Rockets during the first half of their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on December 22, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)Mark Blinch/Getty ImagesWhen he signed with the Denver Nuggets in 2022, he saw an opportunity to lean into his growing love for western aesthetics, embracing a look that felt true to himself and the local culture. He ordered eight straight-brim cowboy hats from Travis Auston Customs in Nashville and started rocking them to games with skinny jeans. Fans ate it up.He’s since learned he’s more into rolled-brim Stetson hats, which make up the majority of his unwieldy collection. And with cowboycore now rustling up attention thanks to stars like Pharrell and Beyoncé going all-in on the trend, he’s looking like a man ahead of his time.These days, Brown works with Nashville stylist Cherie Kilchrist, who outfits country stars like Lianey Wilson and Jason Aldean. Which is why you may have noticed his fits looking especially rodeo-worthy lately. “That’s why sometimes I look like a country artist performing on stage,” chuckles Brown, who was traded to the Raptors last year as part of a package for All-Star forward Pascal Siakam.“Toronto doesn’t have a lot of western wear,” he says, adding this was a reason he hired Kilchrist last year. “But I also wore a lot of simple stuff, so I wanted to expand my horizons in countrywear, because I wouldn’t just go into the store and buy corduroys. Five years ago I never thought I’d be wearing corduroys.”Adam Pantozzi/Getty ImagesNoah Graham/Getty ImagesHis cords of choice are Tecovas, which you’ll now often catch him rocking along with Woolrich western shirts and graphic country band tees. He’s also got a propensity for Carthartt overalls and Wrangler denim, which he likes to layer. But he’s proudest of his belt and boot game.“I have a crazy collection of boots. Those are probably my grails. I wear a lot of Tecovas boots, some Ariats. I have ostrich, snakeskin, every kind of boot you can think of. There’s too many to count,” he raves. “My belts are insane too. The boots always gotta match the belt, so you can imagine how many belts I have.”Brown’s Raptors teammates aren’t huge fans of his algorithm, which has been heavy on Combs, Thomas Rhett, and Morgan Wallen lately. “When I put country music on in the locker room, th
For months now, Bruce Brown has been pulling up to Toronto Raptors games looking ready for a showdown at high noon. From ten-gallon cowboy hats to denim snap-front shirts to sharp-toed snakeskin boots, the small forward’s western flair is a wild ride off the beaten trail of NBA fashion, and it’s turning the heads of fans and LeagueFits admins alike. He is, without question, basketball’s best-dressed cattleman.
But just how exactly did a guy who grew up in Boston and plays in Toronto wind up channeling a gunslinger straight out of Dutton Ranch?
“Basically, this is me,” Brown tells GQ, following a recent Raptors practice. “Everybody knows I’m a city kid from Massachusetts, but I probably listen to the most country out of anybody.”
The 28-year-old wants people to know this whole yeehaw sensibility isn’t a shtick. Brown has a home in Nashville and spent his last offseason on a ranch in Denver, riding horses and herding cattle. “I love dressing and being like this. And I don’t switch just because it’s the NBA season. If you see me in the summer, I’m still gonna be wearing a belt buckle, boots, jeans, and a hat.”
In an era when tunnel fits are seemingly losing their luster, Brown striding in like a lone ranger has brought new energy to a dusty frontier. “I think everybody in the NBA kind of just wears the same stuff nowadays. Everybody’s wearing the same Balenciaga or other designer wear,” he says. “And I’m not a big designer guy.”
Brown’s country obsession took root the summer after his rookie season in 2019, during a weekend trip to Nashville with friends. He caught a Luke Combs set at CMA Fest and was hooked instantly. “It’s just so different from the way I grew up,” he says. “At first, I didn’t like country music at all, but it started to grow on me the more I listened to it. And then that day it just hit. I started to go down the rabbit hole.”
That same weekend, he tried on a cowboy hat. Something just clicked. “It felt great. I think it’s stuck ever since.”
When he signed with the Denver Nuggets in 2022, he saw an opportunity to lean into his growing love for western aesthetics, embracing a look that felt true to himself and the local culture. He ordered eight straight-brim cowboy hats from Travis Auston Customs in Nashville and started rocking them to games with skinny jeans. Fans ate it up.
He’s since learned he’s more into rolled-brim Stetson hats, which make up the majority of his unwieldy collection. And with cowboycore now rustling up attention thanks to stars like Pharrell and Beyoncé going all-in on the trend, he’s looking like a man ahead of his time.
These days, Brown works with Nashville stylist Cherie Kilchrist, who outfits country stars like Lianey Wilson and Jason Aldean. Which is why you may have noticed his fits looking especially rodeo-worthy lately. “That’s why sometimes I look like a country artist performing on stage,” chuckles Brown, who was traded to the Raptors last year as part of a package for All-Star forward Pascal Siakam.
“Toronto doesn’t have a lot of western wear,” he says, adding this was a reason he hired Kilchrist last year. “But I also wore a lot of simple stuff, so I wanted to expand my horizons in countrywear, because I wouldn’t just go into the store and buy corduroys. Five years ago I never thought I’d be wearing corduroys.”
His cords of choice are Tecovas, which you’ll now often catch him rocking along with Woolrich western shirts and graphic country band tees. He’s also got a propensity for Carthartt overalls and Wrangler denim, which he likes to layer. But he’s proudest of his belt and boot game.
“I have a crazy collection of boots. Those are probably my grails. I wear a lot of Tecovas boots, some Ariats. I have ostrich, snakeskin, every kind of boot you can think of. There’s too many to count,” he raves. “My belts are insane too. The boots always gotta match the belt, so you can imagine how many belts I have.”
Brown’s Raptors teammates aren’t huge fans of his algorithm, which has been heavy on Combs, Thomas Rhett, and Morgan Wallen lately. “When I put country music on in the locker room, they're not messing with it,” he laughs. But he’s been slowly bringing them over to the honky-tonk side. He gifted all his teammates Tecovas boots earlier this season, and even got franchise player Scottie Barnes to commit to a country getup when they were both sidelined by injury in November.
“The only thing I could critique is his hat choice,” notes Brown. “He just got it from a thrift store or something. If he got a Stetson or a Bailey, that would have made the fit. I was sitting next to him with a real cowboy hat on and he was wearing, like, a bachelorette hat.”
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Brown’s still working on getting his teammates to join him out in the countryside. His summer in Denver was a full-on ranching adventure—replete with stubborn steeds and long days under the open sky. “It was pretty fun separating cattle, pushing them out to pasture,” he recalls. Though he spent much of the time figuring out how to handle Pete, a horse in a rush to clock out. “When we left the barn, he was going super slow. I was trying to kick him to speed up. And then when we turned around to go back to the barn, he was hauling ass. I was like, ‘You gotta relax, Pete!’”
He’s having better luck spurring players into action style-wise. Texas-born Raptors Jamal Shead and Ja'Kobe Walter assured him they’d tap into their roots with cowboycore fits when the team hits the southern states later this season. And he’s noticed the trend starting to mosey its way around the league, with the Pacers’ Myles Turner, the Timberwolves’ Naz Reid, and the Nuggets’ DeAndre Jordan wrangling some rugged looks.
Could the NBA be entering its Wild West era?
“I think a lot more people are gonna try to rock the trend. People should switch it up a little bit. We should get someone who’s super preppy. Just different looks in the league,” Brown says.
“People should be open-minded, because I know a lot of people in Boston who I grew up with are like, ‘Bro, what the fuck are you doing?’ But it makes me happy. So branch out and try new things. You never know where it could take you. Obviously, it took me down to Nashville.”
