Posts with tag NBA

On Saturday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Detroit Pistons to win the 2007 Eastern Conference Championships. And Game Six was nothing if not exciting; there were several unexpected stand-up performances from players on both teams as well as a very expected but nonetheless awesome double-technical-foul ejection for the Pistons' power-forward Rasheed Wallace. ('Sheed's motto? "To be the man, you gotta to beat the man!" Suffice it to say that you see where that sort of motto gets you.)

The truth is, my fascination with the NBA is as much about players' aesthetic choices as it is about their jump shots. Naturally, this series I've been utterly fixated on Drew Gooden's unfortunate coiffure.

How bad is it? Well, remember the butt-cut Steve Nash used to rock? Well, if you can believe it, Gooden's hair is even worse than that!

As shown in this photo, Gooden sports the shaved-headed cousin of the infamous Tennessee Waterfall (a.k.a. "business in the front, party in the back" y'all!).

But really, who is he kidding? His neck-nape-hair-tuft makes me think two things:

1) his salon caught fire before his stylist was finished.
2) someone gave his head a bikini wax.

Steve Nash is without a doubt one of the best point guards in the NBA. A two-time league MVP, he handles does with a basketball ball what Gene Kelly did with his umbrella in his famous "Singing in the Rain" number (i.e. his moves are graceful, effortless and near poetic). Sounds like an odd compliment, I know, but I say it only to suggest that the man from Canada has some serious style on the court.

But Nash also has style off the court, or least now he does. This wasn't always the case, mind you. For much of his career, Nash sported the hairdo that in high school we all called "The Butt Cut," a longish shag divided by a center part. It wasn't a great look for the baller. In fact, my boyfriend and I had even developed a habit of saying, "Hey, there goes Steve Nash" whenever we saw someone with a similarly unfortunate mop.

But that was then, and this is now. And now The Nasher has a smokin' good haircut. It's flattering to his face shape, it's edgy, and it makes his hair looker thicker than it actually is -- the true litmus test for a good man haircut. In fact, if it weren't for the stitches on his nose, you might even mistake him for an indie rocker or an underemployed hipster.

So I've got to say: well-played, Steve Nash!

The NBA All-Star game this weekend offered a unique chance to do some style spotting among the celebs who were there to watch the game and be seen by the crowds. The game offered celebs a chance to be casual but also be glam knowing that the would be captured by the photographers. The most interesting fashion choice has to be Prince's hat. After the general ridicule he received for the bandanna he wore during the rainy Super Bowl you might think Price might forgo the headgear for a while. Instead he shows up in this number. In his defense Deion Sanders also wore a similar brimmed hat (his was white) but his was more fedora than cloche. After the jump, some more pics from the game.

So maybe his real name is Julius Winfield Erving II, but if you were the most stylish basketball player of the 1970s, wouldn't you go by the name "Dr. J"?

Sure, he played high-intensity, fast-paced, amazing basketball. Sure, he managed to dunk from the foul line. And sure, he managed to sink a lay-up from behind the backboard during the 1980 NBA Finals.

But what I do I like about the good doctor? His amazing style, and two things in particular. First of all, the Afro -- the man went huge. Second, the socks (a.k.a. "high-highs") -- even in his choice of hosiery, Dr. J reached for the stars.