Here’s where the Trail Blazers landed in official NBA Hair Power Rankings originally appeared on NBC Sports Northwest
It’s been a rough year for NBA players when it comes to their hair game.
Damian Lillard said it himself before the NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta, getting a fresh ‘do is hard to come by in the coronavirus pandemic era.
“For me, I don’t even have a haircut,” the Trail Blazers star said this past Sunday. “It’s like, that’s just to show you how crazy it is. There’s no barbers. I haven’t been able to see my barber.”
Subscribe to the Talkin’ Blazers podcast
Surprisingly, some players have managed to keep their hair game pretty fresh. There’s been outstanding braids, beards, fades, fro’s and thus, LEVEL put together its NBA power rankings for the best hairstyles.
While the Trail Blazers slipped in this year’s ranking from No. 3 (88.8) to No. 7 (86.5), there’s a reason Portland’s iconic locks still came in the top 10.
“It’s been inspiring to watch CJ McCollum’s (83) high-top fades grow with his on-court production. But that thing is getting too tall; to paraphrase the great André 3000, take that thing two (clipper guard) sizes down,” LEVEL writer Tirhakah Love said. “Still, the Blazers have a balanced lineup of solid looks, from twists (Robert Covington [84]) to cornrows (throwback Carmelo Anthony [88]) to classic fades (Damian Lillard [88]). Center Jusuf Nurkic (92) leads the way with a floppy fade and reddish beard combo that’s gloriously Viking.”
Let’s re-live some of those looks this season:
If you ask us, retro Melo in cornrows is everything.
LEVEL examined each NBA’s squad’s starting lineup, as one bench player in determining a “grade” for each team.
There are some glaring omissions for Portland of course: Anfernee Simons’ fro deserves an endorsement, Zach Collins has been injured, but he has arguably the most luscious locks of Portland’s squad, and Gary Trent Jr. might have the best hair/beard combo in the NBA (how does he play with his hair in his face?).
Either way, it was a challenging year for NBA players to show off their style and swagger.