It is Recreation 5 of the 2026 NBA Championship. The Knicks are taking part in on the San Antonio Spurs’ house court docket, however the air is filled with love for New York, identical to Josh Hart’s braids. The buzzer sounds zero, the Knicks lead 4-1 and the guard has simply received his first ever Finals trophy, the primary for the Knicks in 53 years, with the NYK emblem braided into his hair.
“He desires his hair to inform a narrative and symbolize New York Metropolis,” his braider Shanna Alexander informed ESSENCE. Since 2023, when Hart was first traded to the Knicks, Alexander has turned his tresses right into a love letter to the Metropolis of Goals. She even styled teammates Ariel Hukporti, Jose Alvarado and Karl-Anthony Cities’ fiancé Jordyn Woods.
“Relating to hairstyles, Josh at all times desires one thing that stands out,” she says. “Whether or not it’s hearts, the NYK/NY emblem, or different distinctive designs, we collaborate and meet within the center to create appears to be like that make a press release.” Between the opinion of his spouse, Shannon Hart, and the skilled whims of his braider, Hart’s braids have turn out to be one of the crucial acknowledged kinds within the NBA.
“It is a custom,” Hart informed the NBA of her New York-registered braids. He says his coiffure — a tapered fade with stylistic braids on high — was initially a mode he noticed on former Boston Celtics taking pictures guard Gerald Inexperienced. Whereas the New York emblem started with Hart’s hairstylist in Houston, Sandra Finn, the identical stylist behind Inexperienced, it was Alexander who integrated the image into her hair for the finale.
Going backwards and forwards from Texas to New York, “we often incorporate the New York emblem after which add different components that symbolize Josh, akin to hearts, stars and different significant symbols,” Alexander says. Nevertheless, with taking part in virtually each different day, frequent styling means utilizing merchandise with as few harsh chemical substances as attainable to take care of the well being of 1’s hair.
“I often use a light-weight gel, beeswax, and alcohol-free merchandise for maintain and definition,” she says. “I additionally use leave-in conditioners, warmth protectants, and oils for hydration and ending touches.” However utilizing the correct merchandise is barely half the battle. “All through the season, I be certain that to offer it trims as wanted, often about thrice to encourage wholesome progress and size retention,” she says.
Very like Allen Iverson and Gerald Inexperienced, Braids have usually teamed up with probably the most profitable gamers on the court docket. Now, simply days after Hart’s first-ever NBA championship victory and the primary for the Knicks since 1973, Alexander marked his well-deserved return in equally legendary fashion. “We at all times need to proceed to push creativity and make every fashion memorable.”