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James Harden’s beard has become his signature as much as the Rocket guard’s stepback jumper. As the above photo shows, there was a time when Harden was cleanly shaven without a beard during his college days at Arizona State.
While Harden has consistently had a beard in the NBA, it has gotten longer as his career progressed. Here is a look at Harden’s shorter beard compared to his current style.
GettyA look at the evolution of Jame Harden’s beard.
Harden’s beard has even inspired artwork. Croatian artist Filip Peraic created a series of portraits inspired by Harden’s look.
“I did not pick him based on his game,” Peraic explained to CNN. “I just wanted to find someone aesthetically interesting…He has this really nice and unique profile with his beard.”
Harden Only Lets His Barber Trim His Beard
Harden admits to being too nervous to trim his own beard. The Rockets guard delegates this job to his barber as he does not want to mess up his look.
“I let my barber trim it,” Harden said, per The Dream Shake. “That is the only person I let trim. I’m too nervous to touch. If I clip or do something wrong, I’m going to be pissed at myself.”
Harden was teammates with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with the Thunder prior to being traded to Houston. At one point, Harden was coming off the bench for Oklahoma City. Durant noted that he has seen Harden use the beard to create his own brand.
“It wasn’t a thing until he started playing with us and some people need something to grab on to and I think that was it,” Durant told The Athletic. “He made a nice little brand for himself…It happened so quickly. I guess it’s kinda cool to see where it started and where it’s at now, that’s just kind of the progression of his career, as well. I guess his beard grew with his career. It’s pretty sweet.”
Harden Told The Ringer the Minimum Amount of Money It Would Take For Him to Shave His Beard Is $10 Million
While Harden has said he plans to never cut his beard, there is a dollar amount that would get him to consider finding a razor. Harden told The Ringer’s Jason Concepcion that the minimum amount of money it would take to shave his beard is $10 million. Harden told TMZ back in 2013 that he would consider cutting the beard for charity.
Harden noted the key to living with a beard is to have good friends. The NBA All-Star wants to know if there is something stuck in his beard.
“It is [hard to eat],” Harden explained to The Athletic. “That’s why you have to have good friends and good people to tell you, you have stuff in your beard.”
Harden’s beard has even inspired candy. The Trolli Sour Brites came up with “Weird Beards” candy featuring Harden.
Here is a look at additional photos of Harden without a beard.
