Spurs fan pays up, gets cornrows after Kawhi earns All-Star nod
Sometimes, in the heat of the moment and in pursuit of the things we desperately want, we say and do things that we otherwise wouldn’t. With that in mind, I present to you this Jan. 14 tweet written by Brayden Neubauer, a student at Texas A&M University who contributes to the San Antonio Spurs-focused blog Pounding the Rock:
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If this gets the 12K retweets that Kawhi Leonard needs to start in the All-Star game I’ll get cornrows #NBAVote pic.twitter.com/SCmrgXGNkL
— Brayden Neubauer (@Braydenominator) January 14, 2016
Neubauer’s flight of fancy caught fire fast, thanks in large part to some crafty promotion by the folks behind the Spurs’ Twitter account:
If anyone can make this happen, it’s #SpursNation! ⭐️ ⬇️ CLICK & RETWEET ⬇️ ⭐️ https://t.co/CFkgMh78al
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 18, 2016
Ooooookay the @spurs think they’re funny and keep unretweeting and re-retweeting my tweet and this is getting dangerously close to happening
— Brayden Neubauer (@Braydenominator) January 17, 2016
That push-and-pull pushed Neubauer’s tweet over the finish line. To date, it has received more than 12,300 retweets, going a long way toward helping Kawhi Leonard overtake Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green for the third and final spot in the starting frontcourt for the Western Conference in next month’s 2016 NBA All-Star Game.
After his tweet exploded, Neubauer faced the reality of his follicular future:
Well… anyone know of a good place to get cornrows
— Brayden Neubauer (@Braydenominator) January 19, 2016
As it turns out, the Spurs do. They hooked Brayden up with extensions to get the process started:
LONG HAIR, DON’T CARE. pic.twitter.com/Wujvq8yU0R
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 23, 2016
Once the locks started flowing, it was time for styling, the results of which caught our Kawhi-alike by surprise:
The finished product left Neubauer with a party in the back that’s a little more reminiscent of Pootie Tang than what Kawhi typically rocks, but with an inarguable homage to the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and MVP candidate up top:
12,000 Kawhi Leonard #NBAVOTE retweets = cornrows. Never, ever underestimate a Spurs fan. pic.twitter.com/77L3Sx1F1t
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 23, 2016
While Neubauer seems pretty pleased with his new ‘do, he told Madalyn Mendoza of mySA.com that he’s even happier that the 24-year-old forward is getting the recognition his game so richly deserves:
“I’m just glad Kawhi got to start, despite all the starts I’m getting at school. It was worth it,” Neubauer told mySA.com. “And my friends are getting a huge kick out of it so they want me to make it a permanent look, but I’m thinking I’ll keep them for about a week or so.”
That, of course, means he’ll be rocking the ‘rows for Monday’s marquee matchup between the 38-6 Spurs and the 40-4 Golden State Warriors, which remains the most anticipated matchup of the season thus far despite the absence of San Antonio legend Tim Duncan. You have to imagine, though, that if the Spurs go into Oracle Arena, win their 14th straight game and hand the conference-leading Warriors their first home loss in 39 regular-season contests, the temptation will be great for Neubauer to stick with the cornrows. After all, you don’t mess with a winning streak — isn’t that right, Kawhi?
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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