Remembering Craig Sager’s flashy fashion sense

Beloved sports broadcaster Craig Sager died at the age of 65 on Thursday after battling cancer. For 26 years, he interviewed some of the greatest athletes while wearing the flashiest suits.

Sager was lovingly made fun of by many NBA players for his fashion choices, but he was always a good sport about it and it never deterred him. If anything, his suits got wilder as the years went on.

A Sports Illustrated feature story on Sager by Lee Jenkins that published in April provided a fantastic look into the effort the broadcaster put into his outfits:

He sometimes wore material that had been used for furniture.

As Sager pairs items on the bed he rattles off the origin story of each, from Rex in Miami or A. Taghi in Houston, resplendence off-the-rack or custom-made. He unfurls handkerchiefs and conceals price tags. "This might have been for a sofa or a curtain," Sager says, pointing to one piece. "I thought it would make a nice coat."

He put lots of thought into his outfits.

"It's the playoffs," the 64-year-old Sager crows. "I have to step it up-in terms of the bling." Outfits are not put together at random. Each is the product of careful calibration, assembled according to home teams, host cities, times of year. "I can't wear the linen paisley in Detroit that I wear in Miami," he explains.

Additionally, another story by KHOU's Larry Seward that published in August revealed that Sager visited his tailor's store in Houston as he was receiving cancer treatments.

Sager's bond with his tailor is tighter than any stitching. Between cancer treatments, Sager admits to "sneaking out." He visits Taghi's Galleria-area store often. Sager recently left the owners a signed copy of Sports Illustrated with him on the cover and a special message: Thanks for keeping me bright.

Here's a look at several of the outfits he has worn over the years:

But Sager will not only be remembered for his sense of fashion, he'll mostly be remembered for being a phenomenal person. He inspired a countless number of people in sports and beyond as he kept a positive attitude throughout his fight with cancer. He never gave up.

As he said in his speech after receiving the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance:

"I see the beauty in others, and I see the hope for tomorrow. If we don't have hope and faith, we have nothing," Sager said in closing, while explaining how his cancer diagnoses made him see things with a more positive attitude. "I will never give up, and I will never give in. I will continue to keep fighting, sucking the barrel out of life, as life sucks the marrow out of me. I will live my life full of love and full of fun. It's the only way I know how."