The NBA’s next generation of stars stepped into the spotlight last night at the 2025 NBA Draft, held at Brooklyn’s iconic Barclays Center. As each player heard their name called and walked across the stage to shake hands with Commissioner Adam Silver, the crowd didn’t just take note of the draft order—they noticed the fashion.
From sharp lapels to statement linings, the tailored suits worn by the draftees made just as big an impression as their basketball résumés. Among those helping define this year’s draft night style was Clarence Jones, the founder and lead designer at CJ’s Custom Clothiers, based in Memphis, Tennessee.
Jones, a seasoned figure in the world of bespoke menswear, designed outfits for several top prospects—including Ace Bailey, the fifth overall pick selected by the Utah Jazz, and Jeremiah Fears, who went seventh overall to the New Orleans Pelicans. Both players stood out not only for their athletic potential but also for the confidence and class they exuded in their custom-designed fits.
“This moment is bigger than basketball,” said Jones. “It’s about family, it’s about legacy—and the way you present yourself walking on that stage matters.”
Jones knows a thing or two about moments like this. Since launching his design career in 1994, he has crafted custom pieces for legends like Shaquille O’Neal, and comedy icons like Steve Harvey and D.L. Hughley during the original Kings of Comedy tour. Over the years, NBA greats including Gary Payton, Danny Manning, and Mason Plumlee have turned to Jones for their personal style needs.
Now, nearly three decades into his career, Jones remains a go-to designer for top-tier athletes who want to merge tradition with personality in their look.
In an exclusive sit-down today, Jones shared insights into his process and what makes dressing NBA prospects so special. “These young men are stepping into a new chapter of their lives,” he said. “My job is to help them show the world who they are before they even speak.”
With his fingerprints on some of draft night’s most talked-about looks, Clarence Jones continues to leave a legacy—not just in fashion, but in the culture of basketball itself.
More From Clarence Jones on ScoopB.com Below:
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: What was the concept with Ace Bailey’s NBA Draft Day suit?
Clarence Jones: Well it all came about when I met Ace when he was in high school. His favorite color is black with red. So I did his prom suit the same color; black and red. So this year for his theme for the draft, I wanted pictures of his entire family; I have two pictures of his deceased grandmother — that was one of the things we talked about when he was in high school when we got ready to do the draft so, this was something that we have been planning well over a year ago for me to do. It was just kind of hard to get to him with everything that was going on with going from Chicago getting ready for the NBA Draft, not working out for different teams… nothing that was really bad but we finally got a chance to get it together and he sent me 24 pictures of the suit. He sent me pictures of his Christian Louboutin shoes that had rocks on ‘em. And so, the question was, Could I make the suit with rocks on the jacket? And I was like, ‘No problem!’ So I went ahead and got my team together and they got me a bunch of stones and I approved it and we got to working! In order to get the black with the red trimming everywhere — like, on the well pocket and the top of the pocket flaps, we had one red stitching in the buttonhole and one red stitching on the sleeve of the jacket. I wanted to make sure that it was very well tapered, fitted looks really good on him. Then he wanted a red shirt with black stitching going down with a slanted A. Bailey #4 on the sleeve of the shirt. It was a lot of fun working on that suit. It took me approximately 4 days to make that suit. They called me on Father’s Day night and asked me if I had enough time to make it and I said, ‘Yeah. I can get it done…’ So I made the suit in 4 days. I had it shipped to me the next day and they finished the suit that Friday. They started on the suit that Monday (the 16th) and they finished it Friday (the 20th); I had it in my hand Monday (the 23rd). I was in New York Tuesday night with the suit meeting with Ace Bailey around 12-something at night. He tried it on, everything went well, we were done and the next day I came back and I got him dressed.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson: What was the concept behind Jeremiah Fears’ NBA Draft Day suit?
Clarence Jones: Aw man! I loved working with Jeremiah. His mother and I had come up with the concept of, Can we do something Gucci? And because I had some Gucci fabric in a cranberry color, more like burgundy we wanted to do something more on the lines of the crimson which is the dark burgundy at [University] of Oklahoma. A lot of people also know that crimson comes in five different colors, you know? Like, a deep red and a couple other colors but we ended up making the dark burgundy the Oklahoma colors. And so what did was they gave me 17 different pictures when he was young —playing in AAU basketball brought all the way up and put pictures inside the suit for that. And so, we decided to do that to do the Gucci with the burgundy outside of it and trim it with burgundy — do the vest in burgundy and then trim it in Gucci around the lapel and collar, threw the Gucci buttons on it; put the pictures on the back of the suit and then what I did was there was a little burgundy Gucci strap to strap it up in the back with the solid burgundy pants and then I trimmed it like in a tuxedo style with the Gucci G’s going down the side. And also we did a white shirt with a burgundy Gucci tie which is the same as the jacket; which I thought was a lot of fun because I ended up doing the whole family in black Gucci with the black shirt with the black Gucci top so I had a lot of fun working with them. The mother was very very helpful in as far as the creation of the suit. I would like to give his mom a lot of credit for helping me with the vision that she saw and allowed me to bring it to life. That was for days too. I did Jerrmiah’s and Ace Bailey’s at the EXACT same time. I don’t like to rush suits, but when I gotta make it happen… this is a big day so they allowed me to do what I do — both families were very helpful and instrumental and the thing was I thought the NBA Draft was on Thursday and Ace’s mother Ms. [Ramika] McGee called me Monday when I had the suits in the cleaners and she was like, “The draft is on Wednesday, CJ!” and I was like, ‘What do you mean, Wednesday?The draft is always on Thursday…’ She said, “They changed it last year. The first round is Wednesday and the second round is Thursday.” I said, ‘Aww no. I was getting ready to ship the suit…’ and she said, “CJ you CAN’T ship it. This is a big big day. You gotta bring it.” I said, ‘Naw I’m not coming…’ [laughing] She said, “You got to because we have to make sure everything is right.” because this is the thing, I haven’t seen Ace Bailey in a year. We’ve talked, but he’s picked up weight and I realized that because I haven’t seen him. So just looking at pictures what I did was an estimate of what I saw he would be. So I increased the body a little bit. I increased the waist of the pants. The only thing I did not increase and I increased it a little bit was his thigh to his knee and I was able to come with the perfect fit. Crazy!
