The 5 most iconic hairstyles in the history of the NBA

4. The Steve Nash

Steve Nash did a great job of cleaning up his look to appear more mature later in his career, first with the Phoenix Suns and with the Lakers as they once again make an appearance here. But there was that period when he was a two-time MVP with the Suns when his hair came to personify that golden period.

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To look at Nash’s mane during that period (and also for part of his time with the Dallas Mavericks), you would say it reminded you of American Pie movies and The Offspring and surfing and white kids in high school.

Which is exactly why it is on this list. Not many other notable players had the same hairstyle as Nash, but he had it during his most high profile moment. This, in turn, made it a thing, whether people want to acknowledge this or not. If Nash was in his prime in 2020 you can bet his hair would have had its own Twitter handle.

Nash also didn’t look like the typical NBA player. Being a Canadian who grew up on the wrong side of the London derby, this was appealing to, let’s be honest, not so athletic white guys who could hit the occasional jumper and also possessed what can only be described as “rec league heart”.

The look itself seems a bit dated today, with guys committing to the full-on long hair approach (think Kelly Olynyk), or else modernizing it by adding a man bun (Evan Fournier, before he reverted to a more traditional approach). Nobody will ever be able to do it like Nash though, and when the Hall of Fame is finally broadened to include hair, Nash’s will be a first-ballot induction.