Sports culture in the US is undergoing a bit of a revival.

The primary four leagues, including the NHL, MLB, NFL, and NBA, represent the bulk of sports interest in North America. However, budding soccer, rugby, and peripheral football leagues (like the USFL and XFL) are shaking things up by offering new sports experiences.

The NBA Catwalk

The NBA isn’t just about basketball. The league, and the sport itself, has directly influenced fashion in the US. Starting in the 1970s, the focus was on shoes—including converse. Fast forward to the 1990s and Nike, in collaboration with Michael Jordan, put out Air Jordans, which revolutionized street footwear around the world.

Today, the NBA rakes in millions from its retail merchandising around the world. From Hong Kong to Rio de Janeiro, NBA jerseys, fitted caps, and basketball shoes are staples of streetwear. The league’s influence on fashion is so great that top stars today are paid hundreds of thousands to highlight new looks as they walk from the tunnel onto the court. It’s become something of a ‘concrete runway’.

Pro Sports & Rap

The NBA may have a foothold in the world of fashion, but all pro sports have influenced music. From the country genre to pop anthems, sports references are par for the course. But no genre has taken pro sports under its wing quite like rap.

Drake and Kanye West, in particular, often lean on sports to craft their rhymes. Drake sticks to the NBA, referencing players from LeBron to Devin Booker. Others, like Big Sean, have referenced the NFL’s Colin Kaepernick. The idea is to link greatness to star athletes… usually with a few comparisons to themselves thrown in.