The old timers may say that they don’t play defense anymore (and they may be somewhat right), but the talent level in the NBA, top to bottom, has never been higher than it is at present. And at the very top, the talent is downright ridiculous – so much so that the greatest shooter in the history of the game, Steph Curry, is coming off the bench in this year’s All-Star Game.
On top of that, the NBA watch game has arguably never been better. The overall interest in and appreciation for the timepieces we talk about every day seem to have grown amongst NBA players in the days since we sat down with the likes of J.J. Redick and Andre Iguodala. To demonstrate, we zoomed in on the wrists of 16 of this year’s All-Stars (including a very recent Talking Watches guest) to see what they’ve been wearing over the past few years.
An NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, eight-time All-Star – and Breitling ambassador – the “Greek Freak” is one of the most unique and dominant players in the game. Here he is at All-Star Weekend 2024, sporting the SuperOcean Automatic 44. During the Dunk Contest, it was hard to miss this one as Giannis donned Shaquille O’Neal’s blazer just before Mac McClung leaped over him to take home his second straight victory.
Last year, then-teammate James Harden gifted Embiid this Rolex for winning the league’s MVP award. While we know teammate Tobias Harris is the 76ers real watch guy, an engraved Day-Date from a teammate for winning the league’s top individual award is something pretty special. We’ll be thinking about this iconic watch moment as we wish Embiid a speedy recovery. While we won’t be seeing him take the court for the All-Star game tonight we hope to be watch spotting him in the playoffs.
The four-time All-Star appears to have a growing Richard Mille collection; here he is wearing the RM 010 in titanium with an on-brand green strap. It’ll be interesting to see which model he picks up after the Celtics win the 2023-24 NBA Championship (just a bit of attempted title manifestation from Will Holloway: Resident Celtics obsessive).
No player’s star has risen more this year than Tyrese Haliburton (with apologies to New York Knick Jalen Brunson). His game is unorthodox but very, very good, just like his Cartier Crash. In fact, this Crash has a bit of a back story that played out in a Mike Nouveau TikTok. He and Four + One alum Zoë Abelson personally delivered the watch to him after a home game in Indiana earlier this season. Clearly, he’s loving his new watch.
It’s Dame Time. And these days, when eight-time NBA All-Star Damian Lillard checks the time, it’s on the just released 40mm Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 Damian Lillard Special Edition. This brand new take on the PRX format features a dial texture made up of the number 0, his number, and a silhouette of Lillard in his “Dame Time” pose on the caseback. This watch collaboration from the official timekeeper of the NBA is about as fun as it gets, especially for hardcore fans of the game.
He may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of NBA superstars, but we get the feeling that Mitchell’s time is coming. His watch game is already there – here he is spotted wearing what looks to be a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712 at the 2023 U.S. Open in New York City. When we filmed Talking Watches with Julius Randle last year, we came away thinking that Julius is really, really into two things: basketball and watches. He bought the AP Royal Oak Music Edition to celebrate last year’s All-Star appearance. One wonders how he’ll commemorate this year’s selection. A three-time All-Star, “Ice Trae” is known for his unlimited shooting range and the depth of his interest in watches. Here he is sporting a gold Day-Date with a gold dial and what appear to be quite fitting diamond indices while arriving at a game in Toronto last year. We’ll keep our eyes peeled during his tunnel walk tonight.