The restart of the NBA season was the league's most ambitious project yet. Not only were the aspects of a bubble environment quite challenging, but being able to replicate the day-to-day intricacies of players proved difficult. Take for instance haircuts and shaves, staples of NBA culture that the league couldn't have found without the help of Will Rondo, yes, the older brother of Los Angeles Lakers guard Rajon Rondo.
As ESPN's Baxter Holmes and Eric Woodyard tell it, Will Rondo, a barber himself, offered to help once he got wind of the feasibility of a bubble site in Orlando. The 39-year-old quickly picked up his phone and started making calls to some of the league's most talented with the clippers.
“Part of the NBA is style, it's swag, it's charisma,” the Lakers guard said. “I've always been taught, when you look good, you feel good, when you feel good, you play good — that type of thing. And barbers are a central part of our NBA players' appearance.”
Rondo was tasked with compiling a list of 50 barbers. Roughly a third of them were not willing to travel to Orlando for the duration of the bubble, considering they had ties to their own shops or their families. Others jumped at the chance, knowing this could be a monumental career move.
Soon enough, Rondo wound up with a total of six barbers, who will be taking the stage at the Walt Disney World Resort and fading, lining, and giving fresh cuts to some of the league's best players.
“Some of these guys got some bad hairlines,” the Lakers veteran said with a laugh. “So this is important. I understand that, and I did the best that I could.”
Barbershops will open on July 15 as players start to roll through the start of Training Camp 2.0. Luckily enough, they won't have to wait long to look fresh again with these masters of style only footsteps away from their hotels.
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