In the summer of 2016, Kevin Durant made headlines for a very unlikely reason: his hair. The then-Oklahoma City Thunder star debuted a new hairstyle that featured long braids, and the internet went wild. Durant’s braids quickly became an internet meme, with people constantly making jokes about them on social media. But how did this unlikely story come to be? Let’s take a look.
Durant first debuted his now-signature hairstyle in June 2016, during a post-game press conference following the Thunder’s loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. When asked about his rationale for the change, Durant simply said that he was “bored” and wanted to try something new. He also admitted that he had been inspired by some of his African-American friends who were wearing their hair in similar styles.
The response to Durant’s new hairdo was immediate and intense. Social media lit up with memes and jokes about the player’s new look, with many people comparing him to characters from popular movies and TV shows. Even experts got in on the fun, with one basketball analyst joking that Durant’s hair made him look like he was “prepping for a movie role as Usher’s bodyguard.”
Despite all the criticism, Durant stuck with his new hairstyle and even began experiment with different variations of it over the next few months. In September 2016, he debuted a shorter version of the style that featured just two braids instead of three. And in November, he took things even further by dying his braids blonde.
Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Kevin Durant’s hairstyle has made quite a splash over the past few years. What started as a simple case of boredom has turned into an internet sensation, with people all over the world weighing in on the player’s ever-changing ‘do. Love it or hate it, one thing is for sure: we’ll be talking about Durant’s hair for years to come.