Harrison Barnes Beard Watch – Day 103

We wondered if Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes had shaved his face during the NBA hiatus. Ladies and gentlemen, we have confirmation.

In our third installment of Harrison Barnes Beard Watch, we finally get an answer to our question. The Sacramento Kings forward made a commitment in mid-December to not shave his beard or cut his hair until the Kings had a .500 record or the season ended, whichever came first. At the time, the declaration didn’t seem so crazy; Sacramento was only a couple of games below .500. They went on to lose 16 of their next 20 games and Barnes got grizzly.

Now that the NBA is on hiatus, some have been wondering what Barnes has decided to do with his facial hair. The day before the league suspended play, Barnes reiterated that he was fully committed to the growth. But would he keep the hair flowing now that the Kings aren’t playing any games?

We got our first hint that Barnes still had the hair when he dropped a tweet last weekend in response to Andrew Yang, who was a 2020 Presidential candidate.

Confirmation! Sort of.

While the tweet certainly seems to imply that Barnes had yet to see a razor, we couldn’t be totally sure. I mean, there is no way that he could keep it going up to this point, right? We are past the three and a half month mark, and it looked like he was getting rather itchy back in late February.

On Thursday, we got our definitive answer and called off the investigation. In a short video that Barnes presumably shot from his home laptop, he appears on camera to promote and NBCSports California broadcast, and it looks as though he is sticking to his commitment.

No Shave March!

This is the kind of thing that makes Barnes so valuable to the Kings. I know, I know. It’s just a beard. But in a fashion-centric league like the NBA where some guys care about the pregame outfit being on point more than they do about the game plan, having an untamed, itchy mess on your face is anything but the norm. As odd as it is to say, Barnes’ beard sets an example to the younger guys on the team about commitment.

Of course, we are unsure of exactly when the NBA will return from its hiatus, or if there will be a regular season at all. But it looks like Barnes will be growing that hair out for at least another couple of months as the league decides on a calendar.

If there are any updates to Barnes Beard Watch, we will be sure to bring them to you. Consider A Royal Pain to be your #1 source on the subject.