Photo: Getty Images North America
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James quickly went viral on Tuesday (September 20) after sharing a photo of himself with what appears to be a shaved head.
James posted the selfie on his Instagram story and appears to be wearing a barber cape and sitting in a barber's chair, however, did ask followers if the photo looked "real" or was "fake/filter," without explain which option was actually true.
Complex Sports tweeted a graphic showing James, Michael Jordan and the late Kobe Bryant both with hair and shaved heads alongside the caption, "It's time. @KingJames."
Nice Kicks' Twitter account posted, "Bald LeBron is coming for us all," alongside the picture.
Numerous other Twitter users also shared responses to James' apparent haircut.
Others, however, questioned whether the new look was actually just a bald filter.
James had previously sported a shaved head in an Instagram post shared after the 2017 NBA season, which also caused a stir on social media.
Last month, James agreed to a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension with the Lakers, avoiding free agency next offseason, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski initially reported at the time.
James' starting salary is set at $46.7 million and the extension also includes a 15% trade kicker, which makes the four-time NBA MVP the highest-earning player in NBA history with $532 million, according to Wojnarowski.
The extension made James ineligible for a no-trade clause as it is added to his previous contract with the Lakers, as he'll be due a 5% raise implemented in the second year of his new contract, according to Wojnarowski.
James is limited to signing a two-year extension as part of a newly implemented rule prohibiting players 38 and older from singing longer-term contracts as part of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement.
The Akron native averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebound and 6.2 assists per game during the 2021-22 NBA season, however, was limited to just 56 games as the Lakers fell short of the postseason.
The 38-year-old enters his 20th NBA season as the NBA's all-time combined leading scorer with 44,693 total points in the regular-season and postseason, as well as second behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) for the NBA all-time scoring record with 37,062 regular-season points.