BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — It won’t be difficult to spot Jim Goldstein at tonight’s NBA Finals game between the Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers.
He will be wearing the turquoise-and-beige leopard suit, with scarf and python boots.
Folks who sat a few rows behind the Pistons’ bench in Game 3 remember his Roberto Cavalli burgundy and light green leather and suede jacket, silk pink and green shirt, turquoise python boots and hat and a python hat band to match his jacket.
The average cost of each outfit is about $5,000 and the millionaire plops down about $100,000 annually during his three-times-a-year shopping sprees to Milan and Paris.
Even though he has a passion for fashion, the NBA is his first love. Goldstein spends an estimated $150,000 annually on tickets and travel for games. He has not missed an NBA Finals game in 15 years, is a season-ticket holder for both the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, attends about 120 NBA games a year and has been attending NBA Finals for the past 30 years.
He once bought a media pass off Lynn Thomas, the wife of former Piston Isiah Thomas, for $100 so he could get into the dressing room to celebrate the Pistons 1990 championship in Portland.
The outfits attract attention at games and they have allowed him into the players circle. He plays tennis with former Portland player Clyde Drexler, has entertained Wilt Chamberlain and Hakeem Olajuwon over for dinner and is a close friend of Minnesota guard Sam Cassell and former Piston Dennis Rodman.
“I have sought out the latest in fashion and the highest level of fashion,” Goldstein said. “Through the years I’ve gotten more and more in tuned into the absolute in fashion. I approach fashion the same way I approach basketball. When I get interested in something I try to take it to the ultimate limit.”
Even Shaquille O’Neal poked fun at his black python hat during Friday’s media session.
He participated in the Houston Rockets’ victory parade in 1995 and would not mind seeing the Pistons upset the Lakers, a team he loathes despite living in their back yard.
“Everybody knows who he is,” said former Piston Isiah Thomas.
He is a walking contradiction. He stands out in a crowd with his outfits, but would just as soon blend in with his low-key personality. While fans snicker at him, players admire his wardrobe. He only buys cutting-edge fashion from European designers Claude Montana, Jean Paul Gaultie and Cavalli.
He does not outwardly seek players’ attention. They gravitate toward him.
“Hey, Chauncey Billups wants to talk to you,” a man said grabbing Goldstein after the Pistons’ victory over the Lakers Thursday night.
Goldstein might be the NBA’s No. 1 fan. He whispers suggestions to NBA Commissioner David Stern, knows most of the general managers and even attends summer league games and predraft camps.
What is the obsession with the game?
Goldstein explains his love for the game while sitting on the patio outside of his 5,000-square foot home, perched 1,000 feet on a hill overlooking Los Angeles.
He’s just completed a walk through his seven-acre tropical garden where “Charlie’s Angels II” was shot. “There is tremendous athleticism in basketball. More so than in any other sport,” he says, sitting in a deck chair, the wind blowing through his long, flowing brown and gray hair which has earned him the nickname Goldie. “I found basketball to be exciting much more than baseball and football.”
He gets home around 4 p.m. in time to watch Eastern Conference games during the regular season. He stays until he drives downtown for a Clippers or Lakers game, which he owns season tickets for both.
Tonight will be his 36th live playoff game of the season and he has spent an estimated $70,000 criss-crossing the country for games. In all he has traveled 32,612 miles, and visited 10 cities.
The highlights were the Western Conference games because “I like up the up tempo style teams.”
The lowlight were the two Pistons-Indiana Pacers games he attended in the Eastern Conference Finals at Conseco Field house.
“I had a tough time watching that series,” Goldstein said. “That was bad for the game of basketball, two teams playing that style. The series with the Lakers is exciting so far. I think the entire series will be that way. There is more scoring and it has a variety of styles and very interesting matchups.”
He was a fixture during the Pistons’ three NBA Finals appearances during the Bad Boys era. He met Joe Dumars, John Salley, Thomas and remains a good friend of Dennis Rodman.
“I admired (the Bad Boys) for their personalities,” he said. “Their reputation as the Bad Boys grew over the years but this is not where my admiration for them came from. I never have been one to care for the physical side of the game.”
Goldstein played shooting guard at Nicolet High School in Milwaukee and says he remains a deadly shooter on his backyard court.
He remains secretive about how he earned his fortune. It is believed he earned it in the lucrative real estate market.
“Let’s just say I had some investments that worked out pretty well,” he said.