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James Harden is an NBA superstar that has been playing in the league for years. He has won MVP and led his team to the Western Conference Finals. Many people were wondering what would happen if James shaved because he has been growing a beard since the first years of his career. Keep reading because we will see some photos of James Harden without a beard and talk about the different moments of his career.
So, let’s take a look at James Harden’s career before he grows his first beard.
Table of Contents
James Harden’s career started without a beard
James Harden was born on August 26, 1989. His career started during high school and college. He attended Artesia high school and represented them on the basketball team. During his junior and senior years, he led his team to the state championship, and during this period, he was clean-shaved.
After that, he became the shooting guard for Arizona State University’s basketball team during college. He played well enough to be recognized as Pac-10 Player of the year during his sophomore year when he was rocking a heavy stubble.
He attended the NBA draft in 2009 and was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder and became famous for his multiple talents as he could score rebounds and assist. This was when he started growing a full beard.
During his second year, he averaged 16.8 points and 3.7 assists. He continued with his streak in the third and final year, averaging 12.4 points and approximately 3.6 assists each game.
2012 -2021
In 2012 he and his beard left for Houston, Texas, where he became a member of the Houston Rockets. His first few seasons were really successful. He was selected to be an All-Star during his second season with 25.4 points per game (PPG) and 6.1 assists (APG). As you can see, the more he grew his beard, the better his performance was!
The 2015 bet
In 2015 James Harden lost a bet to his childhood friend Demar Derozan and was forced to shave his beard off. This was the first time after a lot of years that James Harden was seen without facial hair.
We have to admit that he looked way younger without the beard, but we think that he looks much better with it!
The 2017-2018 Season
This was probably one of the best seasons for James. As he led Houston Rockets to the NBA Finals on top of receiving the MVP award.
2021 and later
In 2021 James Harden was traded from Houston to Brooklyn Nets.
Houston fans were really sad about this trade because he was one of the best, if not the best player, they have had on their team. However, there is always a new beginning…
But what does James Harden’s beard has to do with his performance?
Well, we couldn’t say for sure. But what we can say is that whatever he does to his beard makes a difference on the court! Some people claim he is like Samson, and his powers reside in his facial hair. Other fans claim that his full beard intimidates his opponents, and he is using it as a psychological weapon.
Some people compare his stats without facial hair with his stats with a beard, and they say that he delivered more when he had a beard. To be honest, comparing the stats between these seasons is a bit unfair because he was a rookie and did not have the same amount of experience back then. But it is still something fun to think about!
Different beard styles James Harden had through the years.
Clean Shaved
This is the classic James Harden without beard look that he had during the very first years of his career. He was barely 18-19 at that time, and you can tell because he had a baby face!
Light Mustache And Goatee
This is probably the first time he tried a beard style. You can tell because he is pretty young, and you can see that his beard is a bit patchy.
Medium to Heavy Stubble
This is the next beard style James Harden had. He is a bit older but still young. Even though he looks more mature, you can still see some babyface in him.
Ducktail beard
We like this style a lot on James Harden. He has a quite rounded ducktail style, which looks good on him. Also, its length is not too big but still looks pretty cool!
Full beard
This is his signature look, and you can tell that he is a real-bearded man. He has a full beard, and it looks great. This is what he delivered at his highest form!
How does James Harden take care of his beard?
To be honest, we don’t know about the grooming habits of James Harden. We were not able to find any info about that or his beard routine. We can tell you that maintaining a full beard like his takes some time, and he is probably using some beard products to keep it healthy and shiny.
Did James Harden always have a beard?
James Harden has not always had a beard. He was quite young when he started growing his first facial hair He probably started growing his first beard at the age of 17. As you can see in the photos above, he was clean-shaved when he started out, but after becoming a pro, he is always full-bearded.
Who has the best beard in the NBA?
We think James Harden has one of the most famous facial hair styles in NBA history. He is always full-bearded throughout his NBA career and keeps his magnificent beard healthy, shiny, and long.
Conclusion
So what do you think about James Harden without a beard? Do you prefer him with facial hair or without it? Do you believe that James Harden’s Beard gives him superpowers? Please let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to check our website daily because we have something new every day!
Russell is the founder of themensattitude.com. He is a barber a beard enthusiast and he is obsessed with trying men’s lifestyle products and blog about them. If you have any questions you can hit him up via the contact page.