Yardbarker
x
30 athletes (and friends) who've done Halloween costumes right
LeBron James dressed as Prince for Halloween last year. Kevin Love Instagram/kevinlove

30 athletes (and friends) who've done Halloween costumes right

As 2016 somehow already nears a close, it's time for us to get into the Halloween spirit. Your strategy for doing so is up to you, but looking at pictures of athletes dressed up ridiculously is never a bad plan. It's always refreshing to see people whom lots of other people dress up as for Halloween step out of themselves and show the world whom they wish to embody for a night.

Below is a compiled list of some of the best over recent years, along with some early candidates for this year. 

 The Cleveland Cavaliers
Halloween 2015

We are going to start with Cleveland because Cleveland is currently on top of the world. The king of Cleveland, LeBron James, posted this photo to his Instagram, which highlights himself as Prince, Kevin Love as Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell's character in the movie Semi-Pro), Matthew Dellavedova as a doctor and J.R. Smith as an unnamed baby. We can guess that Smith wanted to be a baby for Halloween because babies aren't required to wear shirts, but that is only an educated guess.

A photo posted by LeBron James (@kingjames) on Nov 1, 2015 at 6:55am PST


LeBron James, Prince
Halloween 2015

This costume deserves a little extra love — I know, I know, giving LeBron James extra shine separate from his team is so cliche — mostly because LeBron nailed it but also because Kevin Love took a video that deserves to be embedded. In this scenario, and actually every scenario, King James is the prince to Prince's King.

 

A video posted by @kevinlove on Oct 31, 2015 at 9:47pm PDT


Dom Dwyer and Sydney Leroux, Drake and Serena Williams
Halloween 2015

Soccer's power couple went as, at the time, rumored power couple Drake and Serena Williams. Very well-executed aesthetically with a performance of Drake's "Hotline Bling" to match. Dwyer, a native Englishman, posted a video captioned, "Wow Americans love Halloween. Here's what I'm dealing with here.....#Serena What a backhand!"

Committed to their roles.

Speaking of Serena Williams, she dressed up as an '80s high school prom queen last year — as if she has to pretend to be a queen.

 


Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams, Steven Adams and The Joker
Halloween 2015 

Russell Westbrook dressed up as his teammate Steven Adams last year for Halloween. Westbrook and Adams are now considered the power duo in Oklahoma City since Kevin Durant's departure from the Thunder to Golden State this summer. Adams dressed as The Joker, and he very often makes everybody laugh with his ridiculous candor. Life imitating art, art imitating life, or something like that. 


Travis Kelce, Travis "Hellce"
Halloween 2015

I can say with certainty that nobody else had, has or will ever have this costume. Originality points, which is a category Travis Kelce is very familiar with.


Riley and Ryan Curry, the exact same cupcake
Halloween 2013 and Halloween 2015

The Curry family and its level of adorableness continues to know no bounds. Steph Curry and his wife Ayesha dressed both their daughters in the same cupcake costume for Halloween when each girl was around three and a half months old. Riley turned four and Ryan turned one, one week apart, this summer.

A photo posted by Ayesha Curry (@ayeshacurry) on Oct 31, 2015 at 10:29pm PDT


Rick Carlisle, Jim Carrey
Halloween 2015 

Or Jim Carrey as Rick Carlisle, depending on how you look at things.

Russell Wilson and Ciara, Batman and Catwoman 
Halloween 2015


Drew Brees and Family
Halloween 2012 

The Brees family's Halloween game is very well-regarded. Last year, the Breeses went as characters from Star Wars. Drew and his wife Brittany even dress up in July, as they did in on July 3, 2015, when they went to the movies to see Top Gun. They have often dressed up as the characters in whatever movie they are going to see. It's a secret what Drew and Co. will dress up as this year, but his nearly seven-year-old son Baylen is on the record as wanting to be Odell Beckham Jr. for Halloween last year.

Vladimir Tarasenko, typical scary Halloween costume
Halloween 2015 

Not entirely sure what this costumes is specifically from St. Louis Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko, but it is very on-brand for Halloween.

A photo posted by Vladimir Tarasenko (@vt9191) on Oct 25, 2015 at 8:44pm PDT


Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux, Miley Cyrus and Robin Thicke
Halloween 2013 

Very timely costume, commemorating Miley Cyrus's very Miley Cyrus MTV VMA performance in 2013.

Erik Karlsson, Natalie Portman in Black Swan 
Halloween 2016

With Halloween still officially days away, we already have an athlete costume front-runner in Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson. This photo was posted on Oct. 19 by Karlsson's girlfriend, Melinda Currey. Currey is the Mila Kunis to Karlsson's Portman, as the two got into character as the two main characters in the 2010 ballerina drama Black Swan. An enduring line from the movie is, "I just want to be perfect," which Currey captioned this photo with. Don't worry, Erik and Melinda. You are perfect.


Candace Parker, Vampire
Halloween 2015 

Parker's caption (I Vant to suck your Bloooddddd) and hashtags (#canIBiteYou #Vampire#IOnlyComeOutAtNight)  definitely add to her persona as a vampire. My guess is that Parker will be going as a championship trophy for Halloween this year, seeing as her Los Angeles Sparks just captured the WNBA title.


Martellus Bennett, Power Ranger
Halloween 2015 

Leave it to New England Patriots tight end, Imagination Agency founder and creative director, and self-proclaimed "Black Unicorn" Martellus Bennett to go all out on Halloween. And to nobody's surprise, Bennett went to Boston Children's Hospital dressed as Pikachu last month.


Julian Edelman, Bill Belichick 
Halloween 2015 

Julian Edelman does killer Tom Brady and Bill Belichick impressions. He is actually hilarious. He took it a step further by at least being his infamously stoic head coach on social media for Halloween. Solid photoshop.

A photo posted by Julian Edelman (@edelman11) on Oct 31, 2015 at 6:59am PDT


Neymar
Halloween 2015

Neymar dedicated himself to scary makeup for Halloween as much as he does his tattoos that cover his body every day of the year. He was also photographed as a cross between Batman and a vampire with his Barcelona teammates Dani Alves (prisoner) and Adriano Correia (vampire).

A photo posted by Nj neymarjr (@neymarjr) on Nov 1, 2015 at 9:49am PST


Michael Phelps, Allison Schmitt and Cierra Runge: a clown, Olaf and Michael Phelps
Halloween 2015

In the months leading up to what would be Phelps' last Olympics, he took no time off to be anybody other than Michael Phelps Going All Out Training For Rio Olympics — not even on Halloween. He did post this photo of his USA Swimming National Team teammates Cierra Runge and Allison Schmitt giving him post-practice treatment while dressed as a clown and Olaf from Frozen respectively. Mixing work and play, solid.

A photo posted by Michael Phelps (@m_phelps00) on Oct 31, 2015 at 9:11am PDT


Charlie Davies and New England Revolution teammates, Minions
Halloween 2015 

Charlie Davies, now with the Philadelphia Union, has been a constant source of inspiration since first arriving on the American soccer scene. He survived a tragic car crash in 2009 and was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. He is now in remission and a new father to two twin boys. Leave it to Davies to want to make everybody else, especially children, feel better around him even when he's going through some of the worst things imaginable.


Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, Cowardly Lion and Dorothy 
Halloween 2013 

Athlete Halloween Costume Hall of Fame inductee. We will never forget.

A photo posted by Gisele Bündchen (@gisele) on Oct 29, 2013 at 7:16am PDT


Chris Paul and Family 
Halloween 2015 

The Paul family didn't go for an overall family theme last year, instead opting to let everybody do what felt right. Most notably, little Chris dressed up as a soccer player instead of a basketball player.

A photo posted by Chris Paul (@cp3) on Nov 1, 2015 at 12:33am PDT


Corey Kluber, Beauty and The Beast 
Halloween 2015

Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber is the real MVP. Not because he has been a vital part in bringing the Indians to their first World Series since 1997. Not because he went 18-9 this season. But because he and his wife made his daughters the happiest girls alive last Halloween by dressing up as Beast and his wife as Mrs. Potts.

Alex Smith
Every Halloween

It's often said that Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is "the most boring quarterback in the league." But evidence found on his wife Elizabeth Smith's Instagram account begs to differ. Alex appears to be a devoted husband and father to the couple's three children: Hudson, Hayes and Sloane. The Smiths also have personality, and they showcase it every Halloween. In 2012, Alex, Elizabeth and then-only child Hudson dressed up as The Avengers.  In 2013, as shown below, the growing family morphed in Disney characters Donald Duck, Goofy, Minnie Mouse and Mickey Mouse. In 2014, they were the cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Anxious to see what the Smiths have thought up for this year, as they added a baby girl, Sloane, to their roster in February.


Justin Tucker, Katy Perry's Left Shark
Halloween 2016 

The mystery has finally been solved, despite Billboard and The Washington Post's  in-depth investigations into who was in the left shark costume during Katy Perry's Super Bowl XLIX halftime show performance in 2015.

Justin Tucker, the Baltimore Ravens kicker and King of Swag, has identified himself as Left Shark at the Ravens Halloween party on Oct. 18.

Dennis Pitta, T Bird
Halloween 2016

Speaking of the Ravens Halloween party... Dennis Pitta's son won the night.

Chris Bosh, Captain America
Halloween 2015 

The best part about this costume is that Chris Bosh only selected it because it was the only costume left at Party City that came even close to fitting him. Chris is known for making the best out of tough situations, and it's worth noting that we wish him health over a clever Halloween costume this year.

A photo posted by Chris Bosh (@chrisbosh) on Oct 31, 2015 at 7:55pm PDT


T.J. Oshie and Lauren Oshie, Dalmation and Cruella de Vil 
Halloween 2015

Hockey players are widely regarded as the world's most graceful and agile athletes, having to navigate on a sheet of ice and all. We are unsure if T.J. was able to navigate on all fours as one of the 101 Dalmatians quite as well, though. We do know that his wife, Lauren, looked fierce as Cruella de Vil. She also casually captioned this photo, "Taking my pup for a stroll before the party."

A photo posted by Lauren Oshie (@loshie17) on Oct 25, 2015 at 6:06am PDT


Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Jason Demers, Three Blind Mice 
Halloween 2015

Nick Young, God's Gift to Women
Halloween 2015 

Hold on, rolling my eyes.

A photo posted by Nick Young (@swaggyp1) on Oct 27, 2015 at 12:22am PDT


Dirk Nowitzki, Lurch
Halloween 2015 

Lurch and The Addams Family should be retired from being an option as a Halloween costume because nobody will do it better than this.

David Johnson's dog Emmitt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 
Halloween 2015 

David Johnson, Arizona Cardinals running back and budding star, did dress up himself as Mr. Incredible last year. It seems he had to do so on a Cardinals travel day ahead of their next game because he was a rookie. Johnson is his own version of Mr. Incredible, for sure. It's also true that the Cardinals' premiere cornerback, Patrick Peterson, warmed up in a T-Rex costume ahead of Arizona's Monday Night game against the New York Jets — and true that the Cardinals have a contest each week where players throw footballs into a bucket, and the loser has to dress up ridiculously like Peterson did. Halloween every week in Arizona.

But I'm choosing to end this list with a photo of Johnson's dog, Emmitt, in a Ninja Turtle costume because dogs always win.

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.