P.J. Tucker Is Happy Being the Underdog

P.J. Tucker has always been a flashy guy. The “Sneaker King” of the NBA even has a separate home for his kicks. But Tucker’s been making noise in his day job, too. He’s had a whirlwind of a year: He was traded from the Houston Rockets to the Milwaukee Bucks, and just wrapped a grueling playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets that saw him guarding Kevin Durant for almost every minute of all seven games. His Bucks are now in the Eastern Conference Finals, where he’s sure to play a big role. But the style stuff doesn’t go out the window just because it’s the playoffs: Tucker’s also dropping a sneaker with Dolce & Gabbanna this week, solidifying his status as one of the most fashion-forward players of his era.

Tucker caught up with GQ for an exclusive conversation about his on-court scuffles with Durant, his secret account selling exclusive gear to players and anyone willing to buy, and the struggles of shopping in Milwaukee.

GQ: So tell me about this dazzling new Dolce & Gabbana sneaker you’re releasing this week.

PJ Tucker: Mannnnn! It’s crazy! Going over there for the fashion shows and everything we just had a natural likeness. I was feelin’ them forever. I always rocked with Dolce. But going over there, seeing operations and how they do everything, they just showed me love from the beginning. It was super organic.

Dolce has been hailing it as a combination of vitality and sportsmanship and passion and creativity. Is that actually what’s in the sneaker, or is it just something dope to walk around in?

It is! It’s all that plus some. For me, it’s like my vibe of a shoe. The “Miami” shoe. It’s in the name. I literally wore them in Miami. I told [Dolce], “I need them right now for this series,” because we were playing Miami in the first round. That was the vibe I had when creating them. Thinking about summertime, how I dress, where I am right now, the shoe embodies all of that. All in one. I think people will get that same vibe when they see them.

You keep talking about the viiiibe of the project. What does that actually mean? How hands-on were you in the process? I want to make sure the proper vibes got into the sneaker to make sure it was in your image.

Obviously with Covid, it was tough—not being able to go there, not being able to go see people in person. But they literally did everything they could for me to be able to use all the materials. Literally: they sent boxes and boxe, of different options. It was crazy. It took me days just to go through all of it. I had something in mind, then I switched it up, then I started seeing all the options I could do.

There’s a nineties feel to the drop. Was that intentional in the design planning for it?

One thousand percent. They say everything always comes back. And that’s totally my vibe right now: that super 90s feel, easy, monochromatic, like you can just throw it on with anything and rock out and be able to switch ya fits up with it. You can do so much with each pair.

How does a basketball player even get linked with Dolce & Gabbanna?

I don’t know, man! It’s just years and years of being me. [laughs] I know it sounds crazy but it’s the truth. People see how genuine you are, how much you love it, what you put into it, every day and every game. Obviously now with the tunnel walks, to transition to that into being able go to shows, then to be able to sit there and have conversations with Dolce & Gabbana, it was insane. So, through relationships and being genuine and honest and having fun, really showing that you enjoy this. It’s bigger than just being able to make a shoe.

What was the timeline for the creation of this?

I started going to shows two years ago. Then, the opportunity came up. We talked about it for a while and when we got offered the opportunity it was right around when Covid first hit. The whole process was all through Covid.

Should I play basketball in ‘em?

You can do anything in em! Whatever in ‘em! If you like low-tops and that’s ya thing then you can hoop in ‘em, you know what I’m saying? [laughs]

I’ma have to put some threes up in them, man!

You remember Gilbert Arenas wore some Dolce’s in a game one time. Back in the day. I don’t know if you remember that. I ain’t mad, fasho.

In the last few years we’ve seen the proverbial NBA runway become something much more important. Why have we seen such a focus on fashion for the evolution for the modern NBA athlete?

It’s always been there, man. Everyone always talks about this. That’s so untrue. It’s always been a lot of guys into fashion throughout sports. Not even just basketball. Think about 
Deion Sanders back in the nineties. But they just didn’t have the cameras. Now it’s cameras everywhere you go. There’s all the sites purely dedicated to tunnel walks and everything else we do in our lives. We get photographed so much. It’s just the evolution of social media that’s changed it, bumped it up, and now people can see what you’re doing everyday.

What compels you to want to stunt to this level? I’ll go on Instagram and I’ll see you in a custom Carolina Hurricanes jersey and matching Goyard bag and I feel poor.

It’s not even that! What regular people call stuntin’ is everyday life for me. Like, I get dressed up everyday. Everyday I leave the house, even if I just put on some sweats, it ain’t just some sweats. I’m putin’ on something. I take my time to get dressed. I care about my appearance. If I look good, I play good. It all coincides, it all goes together, it’s a chain reaction. I’ve been this way since high school. It’s a big deal to me and it always has been. It’s not stuntin’! It’s all about how it feels.

Your stylist said that the way you do fashion is “you haven’t seen this yet.” Or you hold onto items for a long time. Are you consistently buying pieces to unveil before games and events? I know you have an entire house just for your sneakers.

I just buy pieces. Every day I buy pieces. I find stuff I like and I may not have what else I’m thinking I want to wear that with. I see it and I see the vision for it, but I’ll find a jacket I like or some pants. I may not have something right then, but I’ll put it in the closet and duck off. I revisit it later until I get something and start messing with it. Like, I’ll start putting an outfit together and it may take a month or two before it’s fully together. It’ll just be out and everyday I’ll see it.

So you just have hella clothes all around ya house? Combos on the couch and shit?

Everrrrywhere around my house. It drives my wife crazy. It’s just stuff everywhere. That’s part of the game. Everything I buy I don’t wear right then. I know people do that, they buy the mannequin and wear it right there. That’s cool, but I try to do my own thing. Some of that stuff is cool later. Something that’s really hot right now? I like it but I may be seeing a lot of people wear it so I don’t really wanna wear it. I may bring it back way later with some shoes I wasn’t thinking about before.

I’m glad you brought that up. Do you ever get worried another player will be wearing the same high-end piece you’ve purchased? Like, you wore a Valentino shirt in the playoffs and Jayson Tatum had the same shirt a few games before.

Nahhhhh. It’s fashion. So many people are into it. People are gonna have it unless you get something made for you that’s special. But I’m always gonna wear it differently than someone else. In my head, I knew I’d wear that shirt with no shirt under it. I knew exactly. I saw it on the runway. It was automatic. I hit them up as soon as the show was over saying I need that shirt. [Tatum]’ll wear it one way. I’ll wear it one way. Somebody else’ll wear it another way. It’s all in the front of fashion.

Who do you think has the best style in the NBA? And you can’t say yourself.

[laughs] ouuuuuuuuu!

You can give me a few if you want.

[Russell Westbrook] is dope. Russ is always dope. Russ does his thing. I like the kid Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], too. Shai is dope.

Yeah, he’s special

He’s different! He’s the face of the young boys right now. Yeah, those two. I like both of them. Rudy Gay does his thing, too. He be in the cut but he do his thing.

In every generation of the NBA there’s rumors about players who sell personal items from their closets to other athletes. Whether it’s sneakers, hats, sunglasses or individual pieces. You get so much exclusive stuff for your personal collection, did you ever think about doing that?

Yeahhhh. Sometimes. We talk about it. Some stuff I get, it’s a one-time wear and I’ll sell it. I’ll do that. The special stuff? Nahhhh. I ain’t there yet. Maybe one day I’ll get there, but not right now. But, I’ll throw it on The Real Real . I’ll [sell] in different places. If you keep everything, that’s impossible. It’s too much stuff. You’ve got to get rid of some stuff.

I’ll have to find your secret Ebay page.

That’s the key!

Give me the five best sneakers you own right now. Or your five favorites.

Woooo. That’s tough. My Jordan 1 85 Chicago’s and Breds. Those are always in the tuck, I always have a fresh pair of those. My OG Skunk Dunks, I’ve been wearing those a lot lately, day to day. My Cactus Plant Flea Market Dunks. I’ve been wearing those a lot. I love those. And uhhhhh, the fifth is gonna be my Dolce & Gabanna shoe.

How much do they feel all this flexin’ in Milwaukee, though? Do they have the same sense for that fashion and appreciate it?

Where the fashion is, the cameras will come! Man, they gon’ see you. We in the Eastern Conference Finals right now, too. It’s different in Milwaukee. We are doing something special. It’s a lot of eyes on us.

How’s your acclimation to Milwaukee been, both for the city and the franchise? Especially after a team traded you away and you find yourself in the Eastern Conference Finals.

It’s been good. It’s been an adjustment, you know, life wise. Everyday living is a little different [laughs]. But, the team is really good, the front office is great. It’s all love here. When you’re winning, everyone gets along. It makes it a lot easier.

You said “life-wise.” What do you mean by that?

Like, I go shopping. I’ve been in cities, really good cities in the past, and during the day, I don’t sleep before games. That’s my time. I like to go walking, I walk to stores, thrift shops, I be doing stuff. And Milwaukee isn’t really known for those types of things. For life, it’s just different. It’s slower. It’s a good slow, though. It’s a good change-up for me.

So you have better shopping in Houston than you do Milwaukee?

Yeah….that’s not fair [laughs].

What’s it been like to play with Giannis Antetokounmpo? His style of basketball in the way Milwaukee plays is not always something everyone can fit into seamlessly. It’s him and then a bunch of shooters around him. How’s it been for you to slide into these lineups?

It’s been easy. He’s such a good player and demands so much attention. For guys like me that play their role and do their job, it’s the perfect fit. His personality and the way he is even with Jrue [Holiday] and Khris Middleton, they all really fit each other personality-wise. It’s more about that to me than the court, because that part makes the court a lot easier.

How do you envision the level of success you’ll have here? In recent years there have been some flops and everyone didn’t have you guys in the Eastern Conference Finals. How’s it feel for you to be doubted and now ahead of the curve?

That’s exactly how I want it to be. I don’t want nobody to think we gonna be anywhere. We just gonna play and that’s what it’s been up to this point. Regardless of where they picked us and what they think, we know what we got. Look at our team. I don’t know how it’s hard for anyone to say that our roster isn’t as good as anyone’s in the league. I’d rather be the underdog. It’s easier to play from that standpoint than everybody picking you.

Would you have rather had the Hawks or the Sixers as your matc—

It doesn’t matter. It. Don’t. Matter. We’ve said that from the beginning. Even knowing we had Brooklyn in the second round, we didn’t care. We aren’t ducking anybody. We not trying to lose games to play a certain [team]. We not doing that. Whoever we get we play and we go from there. That’s how you gotta carry it because you have to go through everybody, anyway. So no need to try and pick and choose who you gonna play. Just strap up.

You had an out of this world assignment guarding Kevin Durant, maybe the best scorer of this generation of players. What’s it like to prepare for that?

Just play, man. It’s not even preparing because you know it’s coming. It’s a super essential part of it. Just play, block out all the media, everybody talking part of it. Just play basketball. Leave it all on the floor. 110%. All of those cliches. It’s just that. That’s it.

It’s easy enough to say “I just gotta lock in,” but you had a very specific assignment that other people in the league can’t prepare for. So how did you get ready?

I’m telling you: I didn’t. I just played, man. Mentally, to be at this level, if you are gonna be a defender and one of those guys, you just have to lock in and play. It’s so much talk. Everybody saying, “He’s unguardable, you can’t guard him.” You just have to lock in and play. It’s having that confidence in yourself knowing you're gonna go out and do your job every single night and leave it all out on the floor and whatever happens, happens. Knowing you are going out there to battle is the key. Just go into battle.

It seemed to get chippy during the last series. Durant’s personal bodyguard even came onto the court. What was it like being in the middle of that?

It’s the heat of the moment, man. You go to war like that, it’s so many variables. It got blown a little out of proportion, me personally. It wasn’t as big as people made it. Obviously all y’all mad, but down there, you are ready to blow up at everything at that point. You leaving it all on the floor, doing everything you can for your team to win. When it gets chippy like that, it is what it is. But, KD is my brother, so it’s all good.

Aren’t y'all good friends? Did you talk to him about it at all?

Briefly, man. Like I said, it’s so much bigger than that. It’s so small in the scheme of everything. We both just hoopers and we wanted to compete and get after it. We argue all the time on the court. We fight all the time on the court. It’s nothing new. That was nothing.

You even had guys like Draymond Green saying the league has gotten soft after watching the spat. How do you keep it narrow on basketball when you have a blowup of this sort?

It’s different, man. He’s probably [comparing] the nineties and how things used to be to now. You competing. It’s like playing anywhere else. Dudes be ready to fight at YMCAs and parks. Now with all the techs and ejections and stuff, they are trying to clean it up. But that’s not something that’ll ever get cleaned up like that, in all sports, it’s a part of it.

And when you have someone who plays the type of physical defense like you do it can jumpstart that environment. Steve Nash even said this was “non-basketball.”

He’s gonna protect his player. He’s gonna say whatever he has to say to protect his player. It’s gonna make everybody look at it and if you are physical, maybe the referees change the call the other way. He’s a coach and he wants to win. He’s gonna do whatever he can to win.

Even Wanda Durant told you she loved you on the court.

That’s my brother, and she knows that we compete. For 48 minutes or however long that game was, it goes out the window. Everyone wants to win. She wasn’t even talking to me, she was talking to the ref and I turned and told her “I love her.”

One of the bigger things in the league is that players have been a bit more public about what type of wines they enjoy. How do you unwind?

I always go to dinner on the road, especially. Being one of the older guys I always have dinners and have some of the guys come. I’ve always been a wine guy, too. I love my burgundies. That’s my favorite. There’s no other wine. Depending on what the food is and my mood and what I’m feeling: if I want white burgundy, red burgundy, maybe a little Chablis. Normally, it’s burgundy. I go straight there more times than not. Outside of most steak houses or Italian places, if I’m eating red meat, I’m drinking red burgundy.

How have you been able to protect your mind in the last year of the NBA season? The schedule is much tighter, more back to backs, a slew of playoff injuries. How did you function in this rabid environment?

It was tough for all players: going to the bubble to coming out, to starting the season off early and then playing so many games, so fast. I think it was a relief for guys to be back on the floor in arenas once fans started coming. Mentally, that was good. That was a relief.

But with fans back in the arenas, it’s inviting another environment as well. We’ve seen an uptick in racist disturbances from fans in places like New York, to Philly, to Utah. Dwyane Wade told me the other day that it felt like people haven’t acclimated back to real life yet. As a player, what’s it felt like looking around the playoffs and seeing this?

You don’t think about that. That’s the last thing. It’s in the back of my mind. Fans gonna be fans. Everybody has been locked up in the house and you have a few instances with some people. But in my experience, everything has been great, even in Brooklyn. Trash talk or whatever but everyone’s been respectful, it’s been all in the fun of the game. I love it. And it’s a great part of the game. Our team going in there, going against an entire arena, and everybody being mad once you win. There’s no better feeling than that. I enjoy that. I love that. It’s great. It puts a fire in me. We all ready, there’s nothing else someone can say to make me wanna win more or play harder. It just adds fuel to the fire.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.