LeBron James appeared to show off a newly shaved head in his Instagram story on Tuesday
A new look LeBron James has arrived — at least on Instagram.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers star shared a picture of himself smiling in a barber’s chair with his head seemingly shaved bald.
As some pointed out on social media, the picture channeled two other famous NBA players who rocked the bald look with confidence when the time inevitably came — Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
For years, James’ hair struggles have been the subject of countless memes, some that James has even laughed at himself. Many on Twitter celebrated the four-time NBA champion’s bald look, saying the change was “empowering.”
“Welcome to [the] baldside my brother we have been waiting for you,” one user wrote. “@KingJames Some times[sic] we have to let go of our hairlines to find true peace and solace. Now your beard is going to be the star of the show let it shine.”
Another said: “Looks good! I know people are going to clown him for it. I don’t understand why men hang on to something that’s not there. He should have done this years ago.”
Within hours of James sharing the photograph on his Instagram Story, “Bald Bron” was trending on Twitter.
“This will be one of the greatest versions of Bron of all time,” Twitter user Seth Walker said. “No one in the league will be able to stop him this year. May god have mercy on our souls.”
“Bald Bron is the last form of greatness….as a man that has been bald since 21yrs old we should have a #BaldAwarenessMonth 😆” wrote Matthew Smith.
But as some pointed out, James was possibly using a Snapchat or Instagram filter to digitally make himself look bald — without going through with it in real life.
Regardless, James will be back on the court soon enough when the Lakers start their preseason activities early next month, ahead of their first game of the season — against the defending NBA champions Golden State Warriors — on Oct. 18.