High level athletes are in a unique position where they are well compensated at such a young age, which is an uncommon case for a lot of people. With that, they are able to splurge on a thing or two; including watches. Today in particular, we will look at the world of NBA, where stylish outfits and high jewelry is part of NBA’s culture. I have been checking NBA players' left wrist for over 8 years+, so I would like to believe that I have enough references in my head to write about it and mention a few players that stands out. In the NBA, it is a bit of a trend to see players wearing so called “Hyped” pieces. You see a lot of players wearing the Royal oaks, the Daytonas, or the Richard Milles. They are nice pieces, but I personally do not have not much of an interest in such pieces and I am not here talking about their pieces. Over the years, there have been/are a few players that I have noticed that developed a rather unconventional clear taste in watches as an NBA player.
Tyrese Haliburton’s Cartiers
Haliburton’s Cartier Bamboo. Image: Getty Image, Cartier: Collage: Gabe Conte
The man who played 26 minutes in total and won the gold medal in Paris Olympic (nothing to take away from such achievement), 2 times NBA all star, Indiana Pacers Guard Tyrese Haliburton’s watch collection has been brought into the spotlight a few times already online with his Cartier collection. Tyrese likes his Cartiers clearly; from the Crash, Tank Louis, Pebble, and my personal favorite, even got himself a Bamboo. The man clearly likes his unique shaped Cartiers, and so does a lot of the world as prices on pieces like the Bamboo, Crash and Pebble skyrocketed in the last couple of years. It fits well with his overall presence; a rather skinny lengthy guy with a good sense of style. While only being 25 years old, he has developed his mature taste of collecting, and I like that he is not following the general trend of other NBA players. He is definitely one of the players that I will keep under the radar to see if his collection further develops from here.
Kyle Kuzma’s Growing Collection
Kuzma’s Tiffany dial 5711. Image from “Bezel” Journal
2020 NBA champion, a concerning fashion taste but definitely not concerning in his taste in watches, Milwaukee Bucks Forward Kyle Kuzma surely deserves some attention. It is pretty clear that he is heavily invested in the world of watches as he is one of the investors for “Bezel”, a pre owned watch platform in the US. I have seen his collection video from Bezel, as well as through pictures over the years, his collection is hefty and deserves some attention.
I know a lot of players who own the Patek 5711, ceramic Daytonas, and Royal oaks; Kuzma has them too. But that is not the reason I am writing about his collection. However, his choices of 5711s are worthy of a mention. Kuzma somehow got his hands on what could be 2 of the rarest 5711; a Tiffany blue dial 5711, as well as an anniversary green dial 5711 with factory baguette bezel. I am not really into these pieces, but owning both watches in a collection is a rare sight, and one that requires a LOT of capital.
Now onto the fun bit, one noticeable piece from his collection is his FP Journe Eleganté. He might be one of the few Journe owners in the NBA; another Journe owner will be mentioned later. It is not a common sight to spot an FP Journe, and specifically an Eleganté on an NBA players’ wrist. Eleganté is not your average quartz watch. It is one of the most unique quartz watches ever being featured in a watch. A quartz battery will run accurately without stopping for around 3 years. However the quartz movement caliber 1210 on the Eleganté came up with a microprocessor where after 30 minutes of no movement, the watch will stop and go to sleep mode, while the microprocessor will continue to remember the time, and when the owner picks up the watch again, it will go back to its current time, which allows for the battery’s lifespan to run significantly longer than normal quartz movement watches. Not only the Eleganté, he was also spotted with another Journe; Vertical Tourbillon Souverain, a brilliant invention from Francois Paul Journe to create a Tourbillon suited for wristwatches. Tourbillon was first invented by Abram Louis Breguet in 1801 to be able to prevent gravity affecting the timekeeping for clocks, and almost 200 years later, FP Journe has reinnovated the tourbillon movement for modern wristwatches. To say the least, Kuzma’s Journe game is strong, and definitely not a usual collection for an NBA player.
Image from “Robb Report”
Speaking of unusual sight, I have seen Kuzma wearing at least 3 De Bethune DB28s; Starry Seas, Purple Rain and a piece unique which was previously owned by Revolution Watch’s Wei Koh. Not only the DB28s, he was also spotted with the Kind of Two Jumping GMT. I do believe Kyle has some connections/affiliations with the brand as he was heavily rocking this piece and even visited the workshop in Geneva. De Bethune overall seems to be heavily invested in the US market after their acquisition from WatchBox, as I have seen US tennis players like Tommy Paul and Jessica Pegula rocking De Bethune’s during their matches as well.
Since I have been following Kuzma since his draft day, I know he was not this big into watches during his first couple years as a Laker, but he has really dug deep into the world of watches in the last 4 years or so. Overall, great taste (not his clothing choices), a costly one too.
The King of NBA watch collection: JJ Redick
Hodinkee’s “Talking Watches” episode with JJ Redick.
Finally, introducing the king of the jungle: JJ Redick. JJ Redick is a former NBA player for 15 years, having played for Orlando, Milwaukee, LA Clippers, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Dallas; and now the head coach of the LA Lakers. I was a massive massive JJ fan growing up. A lot of guys my age would grow up watching Curry, Durant, Lebron and such, but I was constantly watching JJ’s highlights and games on a daily basis. His shooting mechanics were a form of art, and I used to go outside to follow his shooting techniques. As I was a big fan of JJ, I often searched his videos, and randomly came across with the Hodinkee’s “Talking Watches” with JJ. Never did I know, that video changed my life and became one of the main reasons why I got into watches in the first place.
When I watched that video 8 years ago or so, not knowing much about watches, my initial impression was he’s got a different taste compare to other NBA players. But once I got myself educated enough in watches and re-watched his Hodinkee video, I was in shock with his selections. There are 2 videos on Youtube where he talks about his collection’ one with Hodinkee and one with the Hollywood Reporter; after watching both videos, I was in awe. The fact that an NBA player can have such a tasteful collection was just mind blowing.
JJ’s FP Journe Chronometre Bleu. Image from “Hodinkee”
One of the notable pieces that caught my attention In the Hodinkee Video from 11 years ago (2014!) was his FP Journe Chronometre Bleu (11 years ago!!). He was way ahead of the hype of Journe with this Hodinkee dating back to 2014. The man definitely has taste. Another watch worth mentioning was his Patek 5170G. He mentions in the video that he was deciding between the 5070 and the 5170, which he ended up with 5170. I don’t think you can go wrong with either one, but he went for the smaller, younger child of 5170.
JJ’s Patek Philippe Ref.5170. Image from “Hodinkee”
I thought his collection at Hodinkee was impressive enough but he stunned me again with the video from ‘Hollywood Reporter’. In a short clip of the video where he shows off his collection in a presentation box, beauties were hiding; pieces that were not shown in the Hodinkee video. From that magic box, I managed to spot a 5070J (he got both 5070 and 5170 at the end), FP Journe Octa Chronograph, and a ‘Big Red’ 6263 Daytona being added on top of the already impressive collection.
His collection takes it up a notch from both Halliburton’s and Kuzma’s. This collection is not just about being able to afford such pieces, it requires deeper knowledge and understanding the history of each piece. His vision of identifying the value of FP Journe way before the hype, understanding the importance of Patek 5070s say a lot about the level of knowledge he has in watches. I have to admit, it would be a dream of mine o be able to meet JJ to talk about watches and basketball.
JJ has mentioned in his podcast back in 2020 that he sold his entire watch collection because it was taking too much part of his life, but I have seen him wearing what looks to a 5 digit or 6 digit reference Submariner at the end of his career with Dallas, as well as Teddy Baldassarre spotting JJ wearing the GMT master II 126710BLNR. So I am hoping he has kept a few pieces from his amazing collection.
With JJ no longer in the category of active players, I would love to see more active NBA players developing such taste as JJ redick. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he also coaches Lakers players with watches as well.
Not only 3 mentioned above, there are a few more players where I can see they are into watches. Players like Kristaps Porzingis, and Devin Booker seem to be deep into watches as well, and I hope to see more NBA players grow their own taste in watches and grow their collections based on their true passion, rather than just purchasing for the noise and the “hype” of it.
