LeBron James’ career can be viewed in three different phases.
The first version of Cleveland LeBron laughed and danced his way to numerous triple-doubles and MVP, but couldn’t escape the championship scrutiny. Miami LeBron donned the proverbial black hat, put on a few pounds of muscle and became a flying death machine en route to two championships. We’ve now entered the third and possibly final phase: LeBron without a headband.
The first glimpse of headband-less LeBron appeared in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals when Miami was made their last stand against San Antonio. James lost his headband early in the fourth quarter and scored 12 points down the stretch in the iconic Game 6 victory over the Spurs.
LeBron transitioned to the no headband look this season on a March 10 game against the Dallas Mavericks and hasn’t looked back. James explained his reasoning to cleveland.com:
“I did it because I just wanted to look like my teammates,” James told Northeast Ohio Media Group. “Just wanted to be one. Nothing more than that.”
Solidarity is a heartwarming reason for the look, but there may be an ulterior motive underneath. LeBron’s suddenly pristine hairline might have given him the security to lose the headband forever.
Whatever the reason, LeBron will be a handful for the rest of the playoffs, headband or not.
