LeBron James' decision to ditch his patented headband stemmed from a desire to match his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
James started a game sans headband against the Mavericks in Dallas on March 10, the first time he had done so since the 2003 preseason as a rookie, and has gone without the headgear ever since.
"I did it because I just wanted to look like my teammates," James told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Just wanted to be one. Nothing more than that."
Upon hearing his teammate's reasoning, Cavaliers guard Mike Miller said with a laugh, "Well, that's the only way he can [look like us] because I can't get away with wearing a headband."
James first took off his headband in the second quarter of Cleveland's March 7 home game against the Suns and never put it back on against Phoenix, saying afterward, "It just happened."
Not even coach David Blatt knew if it was a conscious decision by King James to go without the headband the entire night against Dallas.
"But I'm liking it," Blatt said at the time. "He played a great game."
James and the short-handed Cavaliers, who lost Kevin Love for the remainder of the postseason to a dislocated shoulder and J.R. Smith for two games, are preparing to face the Chicago Bulls in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Monday.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
