2017 Hoops #115 Elfrid Payton Orlando Magic

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• Hoops #115 Elfrid Payton Orlando Magic
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• Did a Magic player airball a shot because of his own hair?
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He had 23 points in that state semifinal loss – a performance that led to University of Louisiana-Lafayette coaches to offer him a college scholarship soon after. Despite questions about his distinctive hair interfering with his shooting form, Elfrid Payton has shot better this season. Yeah, Channing [Frye] coming in -- guys respect his 3-ball. They gotta stay home, and that opens up the paint a lot for someone like me. Another shot of Elfrid and his new hairstyle on social media shows Payton in what appears to be the St. Augustine High gym in New Orleans.

Ranking every NFL team's 2024 draft class from the Panthers (ugh) to surging Bears (hellllo, Caleb Williams)

Payton’s overriding memory from his Team USA time in Prague with Gordon? Talking about their dreams of playing in the NBA. And he has a pretty good idea what most people are thinking about him with the bushy mound of curly hair atop his head.

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Elfrid Payton Jr. (born February 22, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Mad Ants of the NBA G League. He played college basketball at University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where in 2014 he won the Lefty Driesell Award as the National College Defensive Player of the Year. Payton was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, but was then traded to the Orlando Magic.

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A quick survey of folks around our newsroom found most people think he looks younger with the new haircut. Payton admitted that he will always play with a chip on the shoulder mentality because of his overlooked high school career and his small-school reputation in college. A product of tiny Weber State, Lillard was the surprise sixth pick in 2013, won the Rookie of the Year award and become a playoff hero for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2014. Thoughtfully reimagined—this is your Society. This isn’t a commentary on the actual look — express yourself, Elfrid!

Elfrid Payton’s hair is often a topic of discussion in the NBA? Because honestly he’s the only player out there trying to pull something like this off while also playing in the league. I've never talked to him about any of that. When we talk, it's not really about that. It's just basketball, and really just when I see him at games. Unfortunately, John Ehret was beaten in the semifinals by Scotlandville.

Payton's growth spurt came too late in the high school recruiting cycle, so he developed into a two-way star outside the national spotlight at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His hair was often joked about as one of the best defenders in the NBA, or an “Elfrid Payton stopper.” Why? Because, well, the flopsy part hanging over his eyes got in the way sometimes.

Elfrid Payton cut signature hairstyle, now looks completely different - For The Win

Elfrid Payton cut signature hairstyle, now looks completely different.

Posted: Fri, 18 May 2018 07:00:00 GMT [source]

(Shoutout to Carlos Boozer’s “shoe polish hair.”) Speaking of thin hair, I feel you, LeBron James. The NBA’s most recognizable hair (beards excluded, James Harden) is no more. The Phoenix Suns’ Elfrid Payton has eliminated one of the biggest talking points of whatever basketball game he was playing in by cutting his signature hair. To hear Payton tell it, he paid zero attention to the early doubts and indifference from scouts and is right where he always expected to be in the NBA. One of the worst nights of Payton’s basketball life actually served as notice that the steadily blossoming point guard would no longer fly under as a college prospect.

Did a Magic player airball a shot because of his own hair?

As notable as his new haircut, he appears to be wearing Orlando Magic warmups in the picture. Payton’s rise to the NBA is seemingly the stuff of some Hollywood playwright, but he has made it come true by believing in himself when few others did. Payton’s hair actually holds quite a bit of significance to him.

NFL Draft tracker: Grading every second- and third-round pick in 2024

The hair might not have been the sole reason for the airball, but it couldn’t have helped. It’s tough to make a shot without seeing the basket. That being said, he might want to consider getting a haircut.

He no longer needs gimmicks to get noticed on the basketball court, but he has no plans of cutting his curly, high-rise hairdo anytime soon. He didn’t cut it after losing that high school game, he didn’t trim it in college and he has designs on continuing to grow it out in the NBA with the Magic. What a brilliant move by Payton to wait until his restricted free agency to finally cut that mop. That way, teams might actually talk themselves into his jump shot improving now his hair isn’t blocking it.

Like Monday against the Nets, when he air-balled a seven-footer. His hair is literally playing better defense than DeMarre Carroll in this play. No one plays defense on Elfrid Payton like his own hair. You definitely have to be more thought out in the chances you take at this level. But I try to stay as aggressive as possible.

It was blurry, but I just played through it. But the margin for error is smaller now, right? He is not afraid to make a full hockey line change right away if guys aren't bringing it. His family relocated to Texas, and Payton ditched football -- the sport in which his father starred as a manic, trash-talking defender for multiple Canadian Football League teams.