Forget basketball. Michael Jordan gave the world of style so much, from the US$175 sneaker to the concept that shorts need no longer be short. And nowhere has the legacy of his image lingered more stubbornly than in the shaven-head look he helped make ubiquitous in the National Basketball Association — and beyond.
Like Jordan himself, though, the look hung around just a little too long — nearly 20 years. But for the new generation of hoopsters, hair is back. These days, it's increasingly rare to find an NBA star under 30 whose scalp is shiny enough to reflect the scoreboard above.
Most younger players are opting at the very least for some hair, like the close-cropped Navy-ensign-style cut favored by rising superstars Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. And many have adopted more expressive manes like the mountain-man mop of the Supersonics' Robert Swift, the prog-rock stoner tangle of the Bobcats' Adam Morrison, or even the Mohawk sported by the Warriors' Al Harrington when he was with the Pacers.
But perhaps no recent hairstyle says "adieu, M. Jordan" like the curious Lord of the Rings-meets-Where the Boys Are hairstyle worn of late by the Grizzlies' Mike Miller, the Lakers' Ronny Turiaf, the Sonics' Mickael Gelabale, and the Bobcats' Walter Herrmann.
With long flowing tresses pulled back pertly under a debutante-worthy headband, sometimes with a ponytail added for spice, it would look equally at home on Legolas battling the Orcs in Middle Earth or a convertible-load of Tri-Delts barreling toward Fort Lauderdale on spring break in 1960.
Paul Podlucky, a Manhattan hairstylist with celebrity and socialite clients, explained that "headbands are really big for women right now," but they do send a mixed message on a 2m power forward.
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"This just looks like an all-girl group from the 1950s, like the Shirelles," he said of the hairstyle. “But there's also something white trash in there, like trailer-y. It's almost comical — and I'm a gay hairdresser.”
Greg Anthony, an ESPN analyst and former NBA point guard, explained that the league has been searching for a new image since Jordan retired for good (we think) in 2003, and players are “on a journey” to find a new look.
“You've always had guys who will go against the grain,” Anthony said. “But it's definitely a little more noticeable now. The game has changed a lot, because of the international flavor, and there are more style possibilities.”
None of these players responded to telephone interview requests — and no wonder. Fellow players can be merciless. Herrmann arrived from his native Argentina last year wearing his resplendent blond hairdo, and has been trying to live down the nickname “Fabio” in the locker room ever since, a team spokesman said.
“You definitely go at someone if they show up with crazy hair,” said Chris Wilcox, a Seattle Supersonics forward who wears a shorter, braided variation on the style, speaking from the visitor's locker room at New York's Madison Square Garden after a game last week. The key, he said, is to back up a head-turning hairstyle with head-turning play.
Indeed, players understand that hairstyles send a message about the kind of players they are. Jordan was smooth, and so was his head. In contrast, players with untamed hairstyles, like Herrmann, tend to be high-energy hustle guys eager to fly into the third row for a loose ball — the berserkers of the hardwood.
In that, they are part of a proud warrior tradition. Historically, long hair was a signifier of strength and virility among Vikings, Celts and Goths, explained Victoria Sherrow, author of Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History (Greenwood Press, 2006). Baldness typically indicated low social standing, even slavery. Scalping, once common on several continents, was symbolic emasculation, she said — the “in your face” slam-dunk of the ancient battlefield.
Now, even Anthony of ESPN, who has worn his head shaved since he squared off against Jordan in the early 1990s, feels the tug of changing fashion.
“Hey,” he said, “if I could grow hair, I'd probably do it too.”
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