8 November, 2010 / NBA / By / 5 minutes of reading

Like most NBA fans, I’ve eagerly awaited the beginning of the NBA season for some time. Sure, I dabbled in watching some baseball, but that really didn’t fill the void left by the end of the NBA season. For me, of course, I’ve been excitedly anticipating what weirdness and eccentricities will pop up style-wise this season. Thus far, it’s been kind of a dud. I was hoping for post-game windbreakers, sweater hoodies, cardigans and high-top fades a la 1990s Grant Hill. (A girl can dream, right?) What I’ve gotten so far is close-cropped hair and rumpled uniforms. Such disappointment, such disappointment.

Before I begin… Can we all pause for a moment to be thankful that Josh Childress’ hair is back in the NBA? (Also, the league needs more Joshes.)

I was wholly unprepared for exactly how heinous the new fabric in the NBA uniforms looks. It makes every single player look frumpy, with all the uniforms looking saggy, rumbled and unkempt. This fabric does not look “high tech” as promised, rather, it looks sleepwear-inspired. Watching the Buck-Blazers game the other night, I was horrified to see that some of the letters on a few uniforms even looked like they were already detaching — so much for that heat-bonding. Be grateful if your favorite team wears pinstripes, because they’re still using the old material, since that design is incompatible with this new fabric. Otherwise, you’re stuck cheering for a bunch of guys who look like they slept in their unis.

With how many tattoos will the Denver Nuggets end the season? If Carmelo is truly on his way out of the Mile High City (which, incidentally, I absolutely cannot get my head around—‘Melo just has to be a Nugget), will they acquire a tattooed player to maintain the current team tattoo level, or will they rely on Chris Anderson’s ever-increasingly inked body to pick up the slack?* By the way, does anyone else ever wonder the peer pressure Arron Afflalo must be under, being a tattooless Nugget? Talk about an intense work environment.

(Incidentally, last season, I started a project (it involved an Excel spreadsheet, believe it or not) trying to compare the number of collective tattoos on the Nuggets versus the Hawks. This proved to be a greater challenge than I ever imagined. It’s just so difficult to get hard numbers on these things.)

Personally, I’ll be keeping an eye on the impact of LaMarcus Aldridge’s new beard. I’m surprised no one’s created “Fear the Beard” Aldridge T-shirts yet—it just seems like such a natural fit. I was kind of disappointed that it’s far tidier now than in the pre-season, when he looked almost like lumberjack or the heyday of Baron Davis.

I know one thing about Wesley Johnson. I know that he dressed for his Draft selection like he was attending an after-party on a yacht— with David Stern. If the Earth were to tilt on its axis and the Timberwolves make the Playoffs, I can only imagine what sort of pre- and post-game awesomeness he’ll bring to the table.

Words cannot describe my relief at reading this tweet from Brandon Jennings. My obsession with the Bucks’ free-spirited point guard’s rookie season hair has been well-documented, and my heart’s been breaking over his current boring, mainstream look.

Finally, Andrei Kirilenko: What the hell? We need to talk. Your hair situation has ceased being funny and is looking straight up scary this season. A friend of mine has the same haircut, and it looks great on her, but she’s a soccer mom, not a forward for the Utah Jazz.

[Editor’s Note: he also looks remarkably like Australian female baller, Jess Bibby.]

* (Shout out to the venerable Russ Bengtson, who has spent many a tweet discussing this important topic with me.)

Random Style Blips

  • Dear Lebron James: Please never, ever wear a backpack during the post-game press conference like you did during the preseason. It’s quirky and endearing when Nate Robinson does it, with you, not so much.
  • Since I’m on the subject of Miami’s so-called “Big Three,” I’m wondering if Chris Bosh’s new close-cropped ‘do annoys anyone else? It was the one thing that made him less annoying than the other two, and he goes and cuts it so they’re all matchy-matchy.

  • When did Dirk become a hippie?

  • It’s absolutely fascinating that Rondo would rather not wear a headband at all than wear one right side up. That’s some serious commitment to a signature look.

  • In case you missed it, Paul Lukas of UniWatch fame breaks down all the NBA uniform news. Read it and learn.

Sarah Moon is a Portland, Oregon-based writer who spends way too much time contemplating the style hits and misses of professional athletes, especially those in the NBA. She loves rookies, misfits, weirdos, free-spirits, underdogs and anyone who wears their heart on their sleeve. She also holds out hope that one day Channing Frye will triumphantly return to Portland — and run for Mayor. Follow Sarah’s thoughts on sports, life in Portland, the awesomeness of tator tots and other random musings and rants on Twitter @SarahSMoon.


Image Credits: Yahoo/NBA/Getty/CNBC