Exclusive Chat With The Twin Towers Of College Hoops Fashion

…TV is in a weird place right now. The only solace to be found is in some good old-fashioned, feel-good sports docs. Like this one from Overtime and Omaha Productions, about how Sacramento State is trying to make a name for itself in men’s hoops. Also, buff Mike Bibby is in it. 

Or this doc, which chronicles the storied Louisville men’s hoops program’s journey to March Madness. It’s five parts, and it’s produced by the evangelically satirical minds behind The Righteous Gemstones, so I imagine it’s gonna be one diabolical ride. 

Anna Wintour and a Liverpool player walk into Fashion Week… and it isn’t even the beginning of a joke. Our pesky kid brother newsletter, SportsVerse, covers what that means for football’s newly anointed most fashionable team. 

If you’re in the mood to book a trip, let sports (and our friends at Condé Nast Traveler) guide you. Here’s where you should go and when. All you’ll need is a good attitude. And a lot of PTO. 

It’s NWSL season, baby! If you’re new to these parts, here’s your primer, courtesy of Yahoo Sports. And if you’re true to this, here’s what your peers are excited about. 

Mia and Mya Pauldo are generational. If you don’t know them now for their basketball acumen, their business sense, or their vlogs and videos, you’re about to know them for their swag. But, to be clear, you should know all about them for all the other reasons, too.

The 20-year-old twin freshmen hoopers at Tennessee are launching a logo with Playa Society. I spoke to them and the genius mind behind Playa Society, Esther Wallace (who is also a generational talent, for what it's worth), about their collaborative process, what inspires them, and how they hope they never fit into boxes.  

Ashtyn Butuso: How did the partnership come to be?

Mia Pauldo: I think it was us, interested in Esther's work…my first impression of her work was at McDonald's All American, and the jacket she made for the players. And I was like, "Wow, that's cool…I definitely want something like that with me and Mya's merch line.”

AB: So, coming into this, you knew you wanted a fresh new logo?

Mya Pauldo: Well, we already had our brand, “TwinBackCourt.” So, just being our own businesswomen, and we just have big personalities…we're very marketable, so we just thought that would be perfect timing. Like Mia said, we just want something more professional; we're in college now. We want to show our other side, like more than basketball. Our swag, our fashion, our beauty. 

AB: Esther, how was this process different than other collabs you've done?

Esther Wallace: Knowing that Mia and Mya picked Playa Society to care for the brand development. That means everything to me. I think I've been very consistent in doing a lot of merch drops and things like that. But to be able to take a step back and think: ‘Okay, let's figure out what this brand is going to look like for Mia and Mya.’ To be able to tackle it and make sure I deliver something that they're excited about, that their fans are going to be excited about, their family, friends, all of that.

AB: Mia and Mya, which WNBA players do you find yourself specifically drawn to in terms of their style or their swag?

Mya: Angel Reese. I love her cute outfits. And I'll also say Paige, Mia mentioned, Paige [Bueckers]. Rae Burrell. I'll be looking at her fits. Rickea [Jackson].

Mia: Rhyne Howard has great fits.   

AB: Esther, Mia and Mya’s fashion paths are still being paved as they discover themselves. Knowing they have such bright futures ahead, how did that look for you? Were there parallels with your style journey?

EW: Yeah, having experience really helped because I think the most important thing for me was to make sure that we don't define everything today. So just thinking about the brand, wanting to create something that will grow and evolve with them both, together and as individuals. Like, I think for all athletes, you never want to really be put into a box. 

AB: What do you consume, whether it’s books, movies, music, or something else, that inspires you?

EW: The vintage vibe is my whole vibe. So, I definitely lean into anything '90s, early 2000s. I'm inspired a lot by television and storytelling through that lens. I'm a big fan of “Living Single” and the throwback sitcoms. I'm always in my 90s bag. 

There's so many different instances of representation from that lens of strong female characters, strong Black women…that had to tell their own stories. Just having those references for me have always been something to think about…So, I think for me, I've just been on a journey of making sure that we celebrate the past, we lean into and pour into the future, like what we're doing now with Mia and Mya. 

AB: You said something which really struck me: that these strong Black women had to tell their own stories. How are all of you telling your own stories?

Mya: I’m just a young female coming from an urban community, showing out for my town, doing it for my family…staying strong with my faith, and [knowing that] me being a small basketball player doesn't define who I am. I could still achieve my goals because of how confident and talented I am. And I could use basketball as a way to show myself, which is cooking and art, building Legos, whatever the case may be.

Mia: We live in the same life in some sense. But like Mya said, we're going to use our outlets through basketball, but like for example, this interview, we're not only talking about basketball, we're talking about other things in life. And we can use this as a platform to express our impact and express our story, so other people will know you know our whole journey and what it's been about.

AB: I don’t know who wants to take this one, but walk me through the design elements and the thoughts that went into the actual logo.

EW: I think even to your point of there's interests that are beyond basketball that are off the court, right? So this logo can evolve or fit into any of those paths. And there was kind of like a little bit of a millennial vibe in there. You know what I mean? Like that aesthetic of this futuristic, Afro-futuristic kind of vibe to it. I wanted to make sure we lean into that a bit [and] not feel super galactic but still feel future-forward. 

I wanted to make sure that all of these elements were in there but not like super obvious and in your face in a way where it felt really organic and it flowed. Mia and Mya, shout out to y'all for making this so challenging for me.

Mia: Shout out to you. You did your thing.

Mya: You did your big one for real.

Mia: She gets a 100. 

The Paralympics offer some of the best stories in sports. Not only is the skill and athletic ability required to perform in each respective sport unparalleled, the athletes sometimes have other day jobs, interests, and hobbies, too. 

In terms of best stories, take, for instance, Oksana Masters, who was born in Ukraine, with birth defects tied to Chornobyl, resulting in her becoming a double amputee, and who is now the world’s most decorated Paralympian.

And on the topic of other hobbies, jobs, and interests, take Paralympic alpine skier Andrew Kurka, who does so much more than ski (and win, he does a lot of that, too). I talked to him via video call, fresh off his Super-G bronze medal. One of his big interests is in the westernmost state in this here union. Alaska, where he resides when he isn’t traveling for work. And where he owns five cabins on an airstrip (did I mention he’s a pilot and has a lofty goal of buying his own plane?) that make up a bed-and-breakfast. He told me the Dolomites, although beautiful, aren't as majestic or vast as the Alaskan wilderness, for those wondering. 

He embodies what I imagine is the Alaskan spirit in many ways. One of those ways can be explained by how he prepares just before a race. “...when I get to the top of the course, I whistle. And it's like a neurological physiological response.” It keeps him calm, and I imagine it makes him feel one with nature in some ways, too. 

I asked him if the Jodie Foster season of True Detective was an accurate depiction, by the way, and he wasn’t familiar with the show. Very Alaska of him! 

Read a book! Bonus points if it’s an inside look at the (literal) highs and lows of high school gymnastics from former Sports Illustrated and USA Today journalist (and Friend of OffBall) Nina Mandell. 

Adopt an animal! Jordan Poole will probably vouch for you. 

Make an NBA TikTok edit. Because Bam deserves it.