How Sweet the Sound - The Story of David "Amazing" Grace (2K23 MyCareer)

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2023 Free Agency Signings - July
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The Fresh Prince of L.A.

Good style is never stagnant, just ask the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and 2023 Finals MVP, David Grace. He kept it pretty simple for the “NBA Runway” last year. In the beginning of the season, he normally wore whatever Lakers gear was provided by the team. Once he started to become more of a household name in Los Angeles, his started to step his style up a bit. He still manages to be true to himself and can be seen wearing anything from a suit and tie to jeans and a t-shirt. The woman who curates his look, his girlfriend Dominique Malloy, can attest to that.

“Comfort is his biggest thing. If I would let him wear sweats and a baseball cap everywhere we went, he would. But every once in a while he’ll surprise me and try something completely different from what I would expect, but it works for him.”

“The process of getting ready can be a bit much for me. Curating a styled look takes time. Matching the pants with the shirt with the shoes with the socks with the belt and the watch. You can definitely tell which days Dom had time to get me together and the days I do it myself. Today was all Dom for sure.” They share a laugh.

“I feel like I have two kids to dress sometimes.” She’s referring to their three year old son, DJ, who is sitting comfortably in his mother’s lap wearing a black Jordan Jumpman hoodie and jogger set, complete with a pair of white, red, and black Jordan I sneakers. As for her own look, Dominique wears a striped button down shirt paired with a pair of white straight leg pants, both from the Ralph Lauren Collection. She finishes off the look with a pair of Gucci loafers and a Cartier watch.

“I just want to be comfortable. That’s important to me. Coach Prime was right though, when I look good, I feel good and when I feel good, I play good. And I do like clothing that’s different.”

Different is definitely one way to describe the look for today. He is currently wearing a shirt designed by Audrey Louise Reynolds and a pair of pants designed by a local artist. He pulls the look together with a pair of Rui Hachimura Jordan VIII sneakers. It’s a bit of an eclectic look, but it seems to work for the hoops star.

“This is probably one of the coolest shirts I own. I found out about Audrey from a friend of mine in Philly. I’m no Russell Westbrook when it comes to fashion, but I like to throw in something different every once in a while, a few vintage pieces here and there.”

Speaking of vintage, Grace also dons a pair of white Versace sunglasses that I just had to inquire about. The rumor was that he had played Tyler Herro in a game of one on one and that those were the glasses that he won.

“These are the sunglasses, yeah.” He smirks. “I like Tyler’s style. He wears some cool stuff. When I saw those sunglasses I told him I would play him for them. He didn’t think I was serious and he didn’t think he was going to lose. I offered to put my Rolex up, which was worth more than the glasses, but that’s how confident I was. Ten points later and here we are.”

Watches are also a big thing for Grace. He has a pretty decent collection. But the watch we’ve seen him wear most often is a Tissot PRX.

“It was a gift from my mother when I graduated high school. She even had it engraved.” He takes the watch off and turns it over for me to see.

Tomorrow’s life is too late. Live today.

“This spoke to me on a lot of levels. Life is what you make of it. I didn’t imagine being a father at eighteen years old. I didn’t imagine moving halfway across the country to play college ball. But I had to stop thinking about tomorrow. Every day I live for today.”

His watch collection has started to grow since entering the league.

“I own about eight watches now. Different brands, whatever I think is cool. I own everything from a Casio G-Shock to a Rolex.”

Going back to today’s look, despite now having a contract and his own signature shoe with Jordan Brand, he said the Rui Jordan VIII is one of his favorites out of his massive sneaker collection. A collection that also includes a pair of shoes that were won in a basketball game with Devin Booker.

“The Ruis are top five for sure. I got these shoes before I got the deal. My plug definitely hooked me up. It was kind of a good faith gesture, I guess, after I got out here to L.A. That’s been my shoe connect ever since.”

A connect that he refuses to name drop.

“I don’t want anybody trying to replicate my drip.” He laughs. “I’m trying to go PJ Tucker status with the kicks.”

We're looking forward to the NBA runway looks this season.

[Agent]

The fresh prince of LA growing into the LA lifestyle

Just don’t go all Kyle Kuzma in season 2

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The fresh prince of LA growing into the LA lifestyle

Just don’t go all Kyle Kuzma in season 2

The kid could never go full Kuz

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2023 Free Agency Signings - September
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Winning Time

The Los Angeles Lakers are sitting atop the throne as the reigning NBA Champions. Since winning a title in the NBA Bubble in 2020, the Lakers were on quest to win their second title within the following three years, and they managed to pull that off right at the deadline. The Lakers were led by LeBron “King” James and the “Fresh Prince” David Grace, the rookie out of the University of Houston. Grace was a pleasant surprise for the Lakers as he turned out to be a key piece of the puzzle. Not only did he win Rookie of the Year, but he was also named Western Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP.

“I can’t say enough about this guy,” said James. “He was everything we needed right when we needed it.”

In an interview earlier this year on Game Theory with Bomani Jones, when asked about being LeBron James’ teammate, JR Smith had this to say: you have to be mentally tough during the season and prepared to take hits when things aren’t going well.

“It’s always gonna be that supporting cast of who’s not doing what, and if you’re not built for that, not made for that, it’s gonna eat you alive,” Smith said. “He missed a free throw too, don’t just look at me because I missed a shot. We all missin’ out here!”

While Grace can attest to the pressure, the Lakers delivering an outstanding season capped off by a championship helped to assuage some of it a bit.

“There are more eyes on you. No doubt,” said Grace. “This is an interesting position to be in as a rookie,” said Grace. “I mean, you’re playing with the GOAT. In real time. And playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the NBA’s most storied franchises. Just trying to keep everything in perspective was a challenge in itself.”

According to members of the Lakers organization, Grace seemed to keep everything in perspective just fine.

“He’s very level-headed,” said Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. “He worked his way to the position that he’s in and I think that helped a lot. Expectations were manageable at the start of the season, and he just continued to exceed them throughout the season. We may have to raise the bar a little bit this season though.”

The Los Angeles Lakers come into this season after finishing with a record of 72-10 and winning the franchise’s 18th title. There is no doubt that the pressure will be just a little bit higher this season. So how do you match what you did last season?

“Getting back is always harder,” said James. “Teams will begin to prepare differently for you, so you have to prepare differently. We had a huge X-factor in DG and we know that teams will be on him this season.

The Lakers haven’t gone through too many changes with the roster this offseason. Going into the summer, the plan was to bolster the front court this season, which they’ve accomplished through re-signing Thomas Bryant and Damian Jones.

“This was one of our top priorities,” said Ham.

This year’s draft was particularly deep with most rookies expected to make immediate contributions to their teams. The Lakers took Marcus Sasser with the 30th pick. Sasser played alongside David Grace for two years at the University of Houston.

“I’m excited to be here,” said Sasser. “Excited to be paying alongside my guy, David. Hopefully, he can show me the ropes around here. I’m ready to get to work.”

In drafting Sasser, the Lakers opted not to bring back Russell Westbrook or Patrick Beverly. Both players were expecting pretty high salaries for the upcoming season. Westbrook was actually signed by the San Antonio Spurs on a 2 year deal worth $35M. The Lakers did manage to re-sign Dennis Schroeder and Austin Reaves. They also signed Derrick Rose. Rose will more than likely compete with Schroeder for the starting position to start the season.

“I’ve always loved Derrick’s game,” said James. Rose and James played together briefly during Rose’s stint with the Cavaliers during the 2017-18 season. Rose’s time in Cleveland was cut short after an injury followed by a trade that sent him to the Jazz before he was waived and signed by the Timberwolves. “Hopefully things will work out better this time around.”

In the continued spirit of reuniting former teammates, the Lakers have signed last year’s Sixth Man of the Year, Kevin Love. James and Love brought a championship to Cleveland in 2016.

“I’m excited to be playing with Kev again,” remarked James. “We made magic in 2016. I’m ready to make some more. I think he’s going to be a great veteran presence in the locker room.”

Entering his 16th season, Eric Gordon is also joining this Lakers squad. This will be Gordon’s second stint in Los Angeles after being drafted by the Clippers in 2008 where he spent three seasons.

“I think I’m far enough removed from my time as a member of the Clippers that being a Laker isn’t so bad,” said Gordon. This will be Gordon’s fourth NBA team in his career. “The team looks good. I like what we’ve got going on here. The plan for now is to play my last few seasons in the purple and gold.”

The Lakers are looking to bring another ring to Los Angeles before possibly losing LeBron James to free agency next summer. James has made it known that he is looking to play with his son Bronny James once he enters the 2024 NBA Draft no matter where he lands. But that isn’t the focus right now.

“We just want to keep winning,” said center Anthony Davis. “That’s the focus. We’re in a good place. We just need to work the new guys in and get back to business.”

It’s winning time, Los Angeles.

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[The JZA]

Szn II, what it do!?