NBA players have become such style trendsetters that their walk from the arena entrance to the locker room -- often televised and then shared on social media -- is now considered a fashion runway. But this wasn't always the case.

The league instituted a dress code at the start of the 2005-06 season when Chris Paul was a rookie.

"You used to see all the older NBA players walking into the game with a big white T on and a do-rag, and all the stuff like that," Paul says. "That was part of the culture."

After some initial grumbling, that culture began to shift as players not only adhered to the dress code but also began consulting personal stylists to upgrade their look even further.

"It's a group of women -- all guys' different stylists -- that really came along with all of us and taught us, and gave us a chance to decide what we liked for ourselves," Paul says. "Just opened us up to different things that we didn't know at the time."

One of those stylists, Courtney May, joined Paul for a panel discussion called The Convergence Of Basketball And Culture as part of the Spalding Backcourt Fan Experience during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles. Actor Terrence Jenkins was moderator. The other panelists were Roc Nation senior vice president Lenny Santiago and SLAM editor-in-chief Adam Figman.

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