James Harden’s beard is one of the most iconic styles that often sets him apart from the rest of the pack, along with his achievements as an NBA player. His beard has been a part of his look for so long that fans have probably forgotten how he looked in his early career days when he didn’t have this fancy beard which is an inspiration for many.
That’s why today we witness many people searching for James Harden without a beard to have a glimpse of their favorite NBA star to learn how he looked before his prime. Our article today focuses on answering your queries by providing you with his evolution of beards starting from his college days. It’s remarkable how this individual has transformed into his current look.
If you follow us along, you’ll be able to explore his different beards as well as learn the reasons behind him growing a beard. Also, those of you who don’t know much about Harden will gain a brief idea about this superstar. Overall, it’s a mesmerizing journey through the evolution of James Harden’s beard which demanded a tribute that we are currently offering!
Contents
- Who Is James Harden?
- Progression Of James Harden’s Beard Over Time
- 1992 Baby Harden – Definitely No Beard
- 1996 Child Harden – Still No Beard
- 2000 Pre-Teen Harden
- 2006 Harden For His High School
- 2008 James Harden For Arizona State
- 2009 James Harden Without A Beard
- 2010 Short Beard With Oklahoma
- Present Day Harden With His Full Beard
- How Would Harden Look Without Beard Today?
- Why Did Harden Grow A Beard?
- Thoughts
Who Is James Harden?
As you already know, James Harden is an American professional basketball player with a career record that can make anyone envious of him. Whether you talk about his style or his scoring record, anyone who’s into the sport would acknowledge his precedent that has been ongoing for the past decade.
He spent the major portion of his career with Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. Born and brought up in a Christian family, this 32 year old basketball icon is the father of three, and is still determined on setting NBA records with his current team Philadelphia 76ers!
Progression Of James Harden’s Beard Over Time
In our quest to have a look at James Harden without a beard, we’ve gone back in time to uncover some of the most rare photos of him. You’ll see how this superstar looked during his childhood days, and during the days he hadn’t yet sprouted such a mean beard that he got today!
1992 Baby Harden – Definitely No Beard
As you can see, baby Harden didn’t carry the gorgeous beard that he sports on the current day. Jokes apart though, isn’t he looking cute sitting on his mom’s lap?
1996 Child Harden – Still No Beard
Seven year old Harden’s photographs are very rare to come by. This allows us a better understanding of how his looks progressed from his childhood days to his adulthood. Take a look at this video to understand the journey of his looks explained briefly with visuals.
2000 Pre-Teen Harden
Harden’s photographs with basketballs are always available on the internet, but not the ones where the talented individual was about to step into his teenage days. From this point onward, Harden hit his puberty and his facial hair started to manifest, and the outcome of it is what we are witnessing today.
2006 Harden For His High School
James Harden was a student of Artesia High School in California. His talent with basketball had already been recognized during that time. He was the key element of his high school basketball team during their victories and the signs that he had what it takes to reach the top steps of the sport were apparent to everyone who watched him play.
During that time, Harden would carry around a subtle goatee without any mustache. It can be interpreted that the individual has always had a knack for beards that reflected on his looks one way or another. With a style faded down to his skull like the Number 0 haircut, his opponents were terrified when they saw Harden charging at them!
2008 James Harden For Arizona State
Back in 2008, James Harden was deeply involved with college basketball as he was picked out by the Arizona State team during his freshman year. It was made possible due to his success story back in high school as well as his masterclass performance during the trials for college. This phase shows Harden’s gradual progression toward making his beard a permanent part of his look.
This beard however wasn’t so dense and huge like it became later on. It utilized thin lines from his sideburns carrying all the way around his chin with a very thin goatee. His hairstyle matched perfectly with such a style. With his curly hair, Harden threw a crew cut into his look so that it didn’t overflow and he would be able to retain concentration into his game.
2009 James Harden Without A Beard
James Harden joined the Oklahoma Thunder back in 2009 when he was drafted by the NBA into the big league. This was probably the last time Harden was seen without his magnificent full beard as he endorsed a slightly different style to his college days. As he started making NBA all-time records during his tenure, his beard too started to follow him gradually.
During this period however, Harden’s beard evolved from thin lined goatee to a minimal horseshoe style. His hairstyle remained the same however, with slightly longer hair overall standing under the crew cut banner. After this phase, Harden let his beard loose canonically and in a short period of time, his face bloomed with a glorious full-beard!
2010 Short Beard With Oklahoma
In the second year of his Oklahoma journey, James Harden started appearing with a full beard grown from his horseshoe style that he displayed previously. At this instance, Harden took the proper first step into the journey of manhood, never to look back. Us, the fans, have never seen him without a beard or even with a short beard ever since this happened.
This beard was a little denser and longer than a regular stubble. The edges were neatly lined and the size trimmed down to the size perfectly. It even had a full mustache. The hair with this style grew up to surpass his previous crew cut length and displayed a non-fade seamless Number 4 haircut.
Present Day Harden With His Full Beard
From the journey Harden took that started in 2008, we now see him with his current look today. He plays for Philadelphia 76ers with this full beard heavy mustache look, sadly with visible bald patches right above his forehead. Still committed to his longer crew cut, his beard falls slightly shorter to be classified as a full Garibaldi style.
Harden isn’t the organized type of person who shapes and maintains his beard on a daily basis. However, he at least keeps it to a consistent size with minimum effort as informed by popular media outlets. The oval shaped full beard gives his head a unique shape that’s unforeseen in most NBA players. We hope he will keep inspiring us by holding onto this style for the longest possible time!
How Would Harden Look Without Beard Today?
Now we’ll ask a ‘what if’ question regarding Harden’s beard: what if Harden shaved his beard today? How would he look? Well, in the age of technology and development of AI programs, anything is possible these days. And such a miracle has given birth to the AI generated photo of James Harden showing how he might have looked without a beard today.
As you can see, apart from aging, nothing much would look different should he decide to shave his beard today. His eyes, his innocence – everything looks the same as before. Although we love his gigantic beard of his current endorsement, would it be too bad if he decided to shave it off to surprise his fans? We’ll let you ponder over this question!
Why Did Harden Grow A Beard?
This is a follow-up question that you can ask about James Harden. Did he grow his beard out of passion? Is this a fashion statement or some sort of religious obligation? You’d be surprised to know that this was asked to Harden and he addressed this question himself!
The answer to this question is quite hilarious to be frank. Harden said that he is very lazy about grooming and he looks for the shortcuts to avoid these procedures. He added that growing a beard requires less effort than keeping a short beard in shape, or maintaining a clean shaved look.
Thus, it was his brilliant idea to let it grow out to be a menacing beard which somehow became synonymous to his look!
Thoughts
We aspired to give the fans something to relish about James Harden without a beard matter, and we hope that we’ve succeeded in our venture. As you’ve witnessed, we’ve gone above and beyond to collect Harden’s beardless photos only to satisfy your thirst of curiosity.
From his childhood days to the present times, his evolution into the bearded looks have been laid bare before your eyes. Feast upon them, cheer them on and support this sporting icon no matter what style he picks up for himself. But we must say, his beard is incredibly sumptuous regardless of how you observe it!