Lakers’ LeBron James finally goes bald

The king is home!

After years of wearing his headband in different positions and using hair restoration treatments that have resulted in varying levels of success, LeBron James appears to be embracing the fact that when it comes to his follicle game, “the thrill is gone.”

James posted on his Instagram story a picture of him in a barber chair with no hair. Personally, I think that it should’ve been a surprise reveal on an episode of “The Shop.” Make sure the Grey Goose is flowing, and have Maverick Carter actively divert the guests’ attention so that they don’t realize James is actually getting his head shaved. Then all of a sudden, Carter looks in James’ direction and goes “LeBron, what the…” The guests’ heads all snap back and all of their mouths are agape. That’s when the trailer would stop, but during the episode would be the big reveal of James’ look.

We’ll see if he sticks with it this time. He cut his hair off during the summer of 2017, prior to his final season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In June of that year, he posted a video of him bopping his clean dome to Tee Grizzley’s “First day out.” However, by the time the Cavs opened the regular season against the Boston Celtics, his hair was back.

James has been clinging to his receding hairline like a rim after catching a lob on a fast break for many years now. A look back at The Decision shows that at 25 years old it was already starting to leave him. TNT even made their own mashup of The Decision, superimposing Ernie Johnson into the video, interviewing him about finally making a decision to cut off his hair.

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Of course, we should leave people alone about what they decide to do with their life, and certainly, their hair. If a person wants to walk around with their hair retreating from both sides, and looking like a Reese’s peanut butter cup that had to be peeled out of the package, it’s that person’s prerogative.

It’s James’ life. He has been wearing a du-rag off the court frequently in recent years, and went with a hat when he was on the sidelines for Ohio State’s Labor Day weekend victory against Notre Dame. I imagine that won’t change much going forward if he sticks with the bald head, and the only time that it will be seen is when he’s on the court.

But the court is where we see James the most, and it’s why Charles Barkley once made that joke about James wearing his headband further and further back every season. As long as James has never thought that he was fooling anyone about his hairline, he can hold onto it until it’s the size of a nicotine patch.

Surely he knows that would look ridiculous though, and hopefully, he can feel comfortable in his truth. The man is almost 38 years old and has been in the public eye since he was 16 years old. He has logged more minutes than any player in NBA history, and also had his career placed under more scrutiny.

Maybe it’s the stress, or maybe it’s inherited but the facts are the facts, the hair was on its way out whether James liked it or not. A Brian Urlacher-like turnaround was not in the cards for his hairline — also he should never want to emulate Urlacher in any way.

If when the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Golden State Warriors a month from yesterday James takes the floor with his scalp exposed in all its glory, he deserves a standing ovation.

Home has been waiting for James for a long time, and he finally decided to pull up.