We love what James Harden wore to his NBA playoff postgame #LoveIsLove

After James Harden defended the Houston Rockets’ home floor with a team-leading 26 points Wednesday in Game 5 of the NBA playoffs, eliminating the Utah Jazz, he changed out of his number 13 uniform and put on what one NBA-TV announcer described as “his pajamas.” Another said he looked like he was dressed to audition for a sequel to the film, “House Party.”

Turns out it was actually an expensive Italian designer outfit.

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The Houston Chronicle reports Harden wore “a matching Dolce & Gabbana shirt and pants paired with Valentino sneakers that put his pregame wear to a total of more than $3,000.”

Want one but can’t spend that much? Dolce & Gabbana also sell a backpack in that same design for $1,195 and a $695 “marsupio” or fanny pack. Or the Chronicle reports you can buy Harden’s ensemble as separates.

“That Dolce & Gabbana graffiti print shirt sells for $1,075 online, and the matching track pants go for $1,237.”

That the design is by Dolce & Gabbana should come as no surprise. As Outsports has reported, the famous out fashion icons have recruited Italian soccer and rugby players as well as swimmers to model their designer underwear, and we’ve never complained.

At least one intrigued, eagle-eyed Outsports reader looked more closely at the cartoons on that busy top, and found among the many depictions of “amore” — Italian for “love” — was one that featured a couple kissing and the words, “love is love.”

Jessica tagged us in her tweet of a zoomed-in photograph, believing the couple to be two women embracing. Take a closer look in this screengrab from the NBA Playoffs postgame coverage on YouTube, and tell us what you see:

Screengrab/NBA Playoffs YouTube

Well, Jessica, we do see a couple kissing, each shedding a tear. But are they women?

Screengrab/NBA Playoffs YouTube

We figure one of them could be a butch lesbian and the other could be femme, or maybe it’s a trans man and a trans woman, or maybe it’s a straight cis couple. It doesn’t really matter, though. Because #LoveIsLove, and we just adore James Harden for spreading this message to the world.

And it’s a welcome message, given that he’s stumbled in the past, as have Dolce & Gabbana.

Exactly one year ago today, Harden made a homophobic comment during a joint postgame news conference with Clint Capela and Chris Paul. Capela used the phrase “from the tip to the end.” Harden interrupted with the joke, “Pause,” to suggest his teammate was making a homoerotic reference, as reported by Jack Golub in the Stanford Daily.

And it’s well documented that despite their incredibly large gay following, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana have a very checkered past as far as anti-gay comments. Among the “stupid things,” according to NewNowNext: “I am opposed to the idea of a child growing up with two gay parents.”

So, as they say: “caveat emptor” or, buyer beware. By the way, the other phrase seen on Harden’s shirt, “L’amore l’ bellezza,” was translated by Google from Italian to, “Love the beauty.” And that’s what we’ve decided to focus on.

Below, you can watch Harden discuss his six rebounds, six assists, three steals, four blocks and the other elements of the Rockets’ 100-93 victory over the Jazz, or click here.