Anthony Davis once said, “I always tried so hard to fit in, and then I figured that I didn’t want to fit.” Carrying that philosophy with him throughout his 12-year NBA career, the Los Angeles Lakers star created his own identity. He carved out a path that has today allowed him to become one of the best power forwards. Davis’ ‘didn’t want to fit’ mindset is evident in his basketball success. It can also be seen in one of his most recognizable traits: his unibrow.

The internet and social media have brought numerous benefits. This includes increased connectivity, access to information, and a flood of Anthony Davis memes! From using the player to mark the V in MVP to statements like “Let’s be like my eyebrow and never be apart”, it would be hard for NBA fans to scroll through Instagram and not come across Anthony Davis jokes. Despite all of this, if there is one thing that Anthony Davis has refused to do—get rid of his unibrow.

Without any further ado, let’s dive deep.

The history of Anthony Davis’ unibrow

The jokes about Anthony Davis’s unibrow didn’t start from the day he was drafted. They existed long before that, even in his high school days. A 2015 interview on ‘The Late Late Show With James Corden’ provided him the opportunity to highlight why shaving it even once ended up being a big mistake. Davis revealed the troubles he faced in high school because of his unibrow. “When it first start filling in, you know, everybody like, ‘oh Unibrow, one eyebrow, you know, the whole Bernie, Ernie,’ everything. I heard everything.” The constant jokes deeply affected Davis so deeply. At one point, he even asked his sister to shave his unibrow. The result was not what he expected.

“One time she did it, went back to school, everybody like, ‘oh my God, Anthony,’ you know, but then it grew back thick and I’m like, ‘All right, we can’t keep this, you know?’” Davis said. When the two options available to Davis were either a unibrow or a ‘thick’ unibrow, there wasn’t much left to think. Davis chose to embrace his unique facial feature and leave it unchanged.

This only benefitted him in the long run. Others would have easily given in and just got rid of the unibrow. Some may have even made an appeal to people about not making the jokes. However, the NBA star took full advantage of the attention he got. In recent years, the 2020 NBA champion has trademarked phrases like “Fear the Brow” and “Raise the Brow.” The main reason behind it, as he would later state to CNBC, was that “I don’t want anyone to try to grow a unibrow because of me and then try to make money off of it. Me and my family decided to trademark it because it’s very unique.” He fully accepted the nickname ‘The Brow’, and even went so far to make commercials that targeted his look specifically. One famous example of this took place in 2013 when he starred in an ad for Boost Mobile ad. Instead of doing any of the talking himself, he just let his unibrow speak!

Even other players have banked on the success that Davis’s marketing has had. If there is anyone who can relate even slightly with Anthony Davis’s situation, then it is James Harden. While the Lakers player has his unibrow, the Clippers point guard boasts one of the most iconic beards ever possessed by an NBA player. In a 2014 Footlocker commercial, both players attempted to follow in each other’s footsteps by disguising like each other only! Davis donned a version of the beard for himself, while Harden had a unibrow fixed upon his face.

Today, memes about the unibrow continue to exist. However, ‘The Brow’ nickname has effortlessly been replaced with simply ‘AD.’ More than the people who make fun of him for his facial feature are fans who have developed a respect for the player over his scoring prowess. When the time comes, and the Lakers will have to say goodbye to LeBron James, then Anthony Davis may very well become the next face of the NBA. And a ‘unibrow’ face at that!

Knowing the potential that it holds, Anthony Davis may continue to bringing the unibrow to the forefront. After all, he it to give NBA fans almost a mini-heart attack in 2018, when it felt that the jokes and memes had finally gotten to him.

Did Anthony Davis really shave off his unibrow back in 2018?

On April 1, no one expects to take any shocking news/update seriously. However, Anthony Davis made NBA fans forget, for a moment, that it was April Fool’s Day. As a result, many of them fell into the trap that he had so cleverly set.

Just a few days before April 1,2018, Anthony Davis put a poll up on X (then known as Twitter). He asked fans if he should shave his unibrow. The results came in, and 51% voted in the affirmative. Soon after that, the player released a video captioned “The people have spoken, time for a little change…” With a towel on his shoulder, shaving cream in one hand, and a razor on his other, the unexpected was about to happen! He applied the cream and brought the razor to the center of his brow. Just then, however, the camera flipped and fell. Davis quickly picked it up. The deed was done.

Or so we thought! In a few hours for Davis to return to Twitter, highlight a picture of the unibrow still intact, and leave a remark that said “Come on y’all!! Y’all knew I wasn’t cutting it.” Well, one could have hoped.

The April Fools Prank proved that when Anthony Davis does shave off his unibrow, it will be a big day in the NBA! However, despite best efforts, the player is ensuring that the day never comes.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.