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Philadelphia 76ers star guard James Harden’s beard has long been one of the most iconic trademark looks across professional sports. According to Harden, he last fully shaved back in high school, and during college at Arizona State, he started sporting a smaller trimmed beard.
It was in 2009, as he transitioned from his second year of college to the start of his NBA career with the OKC Thunder, that he began growing his iconic full, bushy beard. Throughout his 14-year career, his beard has continued to evolve, but he has never strayed far from his signature look.
Harden’s older brother, Akili Roberson, who is a barber, once joked that Harden started growing his beard because he wanted to compete with him:
“To be truthful I think he started growing a beard because he saw mine coming in and he got hair on his face,” Roberson said.
“He won’t say that’s what it was, but he won that battle.”
However, Harden said this was not the case as his brother’s beard isn’t close to as nice as his:
“You see his beard? It’s terrible, I didn’t get it from him, I just got it. I didn’t get it from him,” Harden said.
Roberson added that Harden started lining up his beard once he got to OKC after being drafted No. 3 by the Thunder in 2009:
“I think second year at Arizona State it started growing,” Roberson said.
“He gets it trimmed down and once he got to OKC, he just one summer said, ‘Don’t cut my beard. Just line it up.’ It went from there. It can grow at a fast pace and it grows all over his face.”
James Harden's journey from college to the NBA
While James Harden had a short stint with the Arizona State Sun Devils, it was certainly a memorable one. As a freshman, Harden averaged 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.1 steals per game on 52.7% shooting over 34 games. Already showing signs of being a lottery pick, this is when he began growing out his iconic beard.
As a sophomore, Harden later averaged 20.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.2 apg and 1.7 spg on 48.9% shooting over 35 games. His strong all-around play cleared any doubts about his potential and made him a clear-cut Top 5 draft pick. This led Harden to get drafted No. 3 by the OKC Thunder in the 2009 NBA draft. It was then that he continued growing out his beard and created one of the most recognizable symbols in the league.
James Harden on the brand of his beard
James Harden’s trademark beard has become synonymous with his brand over the years and has even led to increased sponsorship opportunities for him. During his three years in OKC, “Fear the Beard” merchandise became popular among fans. After Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets in 2012 and started developing into a star player, fans started wearing fake beards to games.
Harden later signed a 13-year, $200 million deal with Adidas in 2015, with his Adidas shoe logo featuring his beard.
“It’s branded for sure,” Harden said of his beard.
Harden added that it’s cool to have a trademark that he is so widely known for:
“You might not know my name, but you know that beard from somewhere,” Harden said.
“Same thing with Jordan. You know that sign with him spreading his legs in the air with the ball. It’s a cool feeling.”
