Kyle Kuzma Wants to Hang His 'Iconic' Pink Sweater in His Home: 'The Entire World Was Talking About It'

Kyle Kuzma/Instagram Kyle Kuzma in his iconic pink sweater

In a league where nicknames and narratives are often discussed more than a player's statistics, there are certain NBA stars that take more mockery than others. Kyle Kuzma, who won his first championship ring with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, says he's one of those players.

"I think people look at me and they see blond hair and they see the person that I date or the clothes that I wear, they have this image of me," the 27-year-old athlete tells PEOPLE.

"But not many people know that I'm just a regular humble dude and I just have fun," says Kuzma, who recently partnered with Stella Artois and POTR by Yoshida & Co. to launch their fashion program "Secure The Bag."

Kuzma's relationship to the public transcends the sports world, as the athlete regularly steps out at fashion shows and events with supermodel girlfriend Winnie Harlow. "We always bounce ideas off each other," he says of his relationship with Harlow, 28.

Winnie Harlow/Instagram

"[Winnie] has a lot of style, too, and that's one of the things that's connecting me to her and you know we love fashion, we love art, we love clothing."

While dozens of successful athletes pursue outside ventures such as movies and sneakers, NBA players exploring high fashion haven't been met with the same excitement from fans. In some cases, even Kuzma's peers mocked his style choices.

In 2020, Undisputed host Shannon Sharpe tweeted, "Kyle Kuzma doesn't know what he wants to do with his hair. He's out there looking like Sang from 'Rush Hour' now." When asked whether or not he believes his blond hair was a catalyst to the influx of jokes at his expense, Kuzma says, "Oh yeah, for sure. Especially when I was in LA."

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Even prior to going blond, Kuzma's sartorial choices have received a harsher criticism than his peers. During his time with the Lakers, teammate Quinn Cook posted a video of the team mocking Kuzma's mint suit, with more than 40,000 likes. Kuzma tells PEOPLE, "It comes off as not serious, but you look at every soccer player in the world, they have crazy hair, but it's just a stigma around American sports how sports fans view what an athlete should be and what they should look like."

Last season, after being traded to the Wizards, Kuzma debuted his most contentious fashion choice yet — an oversized pink sweater (seen above) reminiscent of Lenny Kravitz's infamous big scarf.

"The pink sweater was an art piece," says Kuzma, who agrees that he and Kravitz's pieces share the same "type of vibe." He tells PEOPLE the look still remains his favorite of his various pre-game looks, "because the messaging behind it."

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Kuzma adds that the oversized pink sweater "was iconic and the entire world was talking about it."

And as sports and fashion continue to merge, Kuzma is a step ahead both on and off the court. "Sport is an art," he says. "If you understand the game, if you understand the nuances of it, and then fashion is not just clothes. Fashion is art. For me to wear a big ass sweater, that's not a piece you'd wear to the mall or anything. It's art."

Soon, the fabled pink sweater will become an actual art piece on display in Kuzma's home. "That's something that's going to go in my house hung up on the wall," he says.

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As a new NBA season approaches, Kuzma says he'll continue to express himself through fashion. In fact, the jabs at Kuz's adventurous style have only thickened his skin. "People are always going to have opinions and reference points on how they view life and how they think life should be," he says.

"So it's all about just being yourself and doing what you want, because all the people that say things about you, they're not going to be in the grave with you, so it doesn't really matter too much," says Kuzma.