The Hilarious Story of How Carmelo Anthony Lost His Iconic Long Hair Over a Video Game

The 2003 NBA Draft Class gave birth to a list of talented stars. These young stars entered the NBA and proved their talent at the biggest stage. While LeBron James and Dwyane Wade highlight the 2003 draft list, the talent of Carmelo Anthony cannot be overlooked. 

The Denver Nuggets picked up Melo with the third pick in the 2003 Draft. He came from Syracuse University, where he helped his college basketball team win their first NCAA championship. Being a player with a rich basketball talent, Melo was bound to find success in the league.

When the Denver swooped Melo, they wanted to make use of his raw talent for at least a few years. And just like that, the 10-time All-Star played for eight seasons with the Nuggets before signing with the New York Knicks. 

When Melo first entered the league, he sported cornrows, just like how Allen Iverson rocked them. The braids on Melo’s hair created a buzz among youngsters to follow the trend and try it on themselves. But after 2008, we could see Carmelo Anthony getting rid of his long hair and restricting himself to a buzz cut. What could be the reason?

What made Carmelo Anthony cut his hair?

In 2008, EA Sports released a video of Melo and his friend playing NBA Live 09. The former Knicks star and his friend are shown competing against each other in what seemed to be a tense matchup. As Melo chose to play the Denver Nuggets, his friend “Munch” tries his luck with the Houston Rockets. 

“You can’t beat me in this game, Melo,” Munch says as he holds control of the ball. Melo gets confident and asks Munch to bet on it, with the winner giving up something. As Much agrees, he asks Melo to give up two valuable possessions to which the former Nuggets man disagrees. 

“If I win this game, you’ve got to cut your hair tonight.” This is how Munch challenged Carmelo Anthony to a game in which the outcome heavily relied on Melo keeping his hair or shaving it off. After polite disagreements, the duo came up with a balanced idea. 

The person who loses the game should cut off their hair. Now, this seemed like a fair deal as both players had a major stake in it. As they agreed, the game got going in an intense fashion. From relaxing on the couch, the players instantly sprung up straight to focus on winning. 

Ultimately, a 10-point difference saw Melo lose the game. Moreover, Melo had to listen to all of Munch’s trash talks after his defeat. There was no time for any excuses and the haircut was inevitable. With all the trimming equipment ready, we can see Carmelo Anthony getting a fresh look as a result of his defeat. Here is the complete video which was recently posted by Playmaker HQ on Instagram.