By Jared Zwerling

Heat forward and six-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire wears a lot of hats—and not only his collection of wide-brimmed ones. STAT, as he calls himself for “Standing Tall and Talented,” is an actor (Trainwreck), movie producer (Beyond the Lights), author of a children’s book series with Scholastic and NBA fashion pioneer who was one of the first players to have a personal stylist, Rachel Johnson, about 10 years ago.

Stoudemire has also been an art collector since his Suns days, and for the first time this week in Miami, the 13-year NBA veteran got involved with Art Basel, the world’s biggest festival for modern and contemporary art. But Stoudemire didn’t just attend an art show; he was the featured attraction at four different events.

The NBPA went behind the scenes with Stoudemire during his first Art Basel experience. Below are photos (from his personal photographer, Jerritt Clark) throughout his two-day adventure, along with his thoughts from a panel discussion at the W South Beach hotel where he discussed the unique convergence of his passion for art, fashion and culture in his life.

TUESDAY

Surface Magazine hosted a luncheon featuring Stoudemire at a newly built mansion in Bal Harbour. STAT has a two-page spread in this month’s issue.

On getting into art: “I was drafted at 18 and now I’ve been in the NBA for 13 years, so with that being said, it gave me the platform to travel the world and really experience different cultures. Once I was able to experience the cultures and learn about the history and develop that type of historian mindset, then I eventually became more aware of the art and the culture within that particular country. My mind just started to expand more and started to grow more, and as the years went on I became an art collector.”

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