After deciding that the current roster had reached a plateau after last season, the Philadelphia 76ers were the surprising 4th team in the blockbuster trade that sent Dwight Howard to LA, Andre Iguodala to Denver, and Andrew Bynum back to Philly.
While Bynum was supposed to be the next great franchise player in Philly, the team has slumped as the former 2 time All Star has yet to see any court time in the City of Brotherly Love because of a degenerative knee condition.
Aiding in the Sixers disastrous season was the knee injury to fellow newcomer Jason Richardson, along with a lingering hamstring injury to energetic forward Thadeus Young that forced him to miss nearly a month, and the lackluster front court play of big men Spencer Hawes and Lavoy Allen.
But not all things have gone bust in Philly as along with the continued improvement of former Lottery pick Evan Turner and young point guard Jrue Holiday making his first All Star appearance, journeyman scorer Nick Young, affectionately known as “Swaggy P”, has come into his own as a spot starter and instant offense 6th man, capable of dropping 20+ points on any given night.
Doug Collins has made it one of his missions this season to turn the longtime perimeter threat into a legitimate all around player in the mold of former guard proteges Rip Hamilton, Gilbert Arenas, and dare I say Michael Jordan.
Ok, so putting Swaggy in the same sentence as MJ is a major stretch, but Nick has made huge strides as a passer and defender, making him more than just a glorified 3 point shooter. His overall offensive numbers are at or above the numbers he posted last season as a member of the LA Clippers.
To go along with his brash personality, Young regularly makes news for his sometimes outlandish hairstyles like most recently when he rocked the ever popular “brohawk.”
But, he’ll definitely turn heads with his newest doo as he takes it back to ’79 with what is being called the “Afro-Mullet.” It’s actually called the “Shag” and it was in style way back before the fade.
At least he didn’t try to emulate his oft injured big man Andrew Bynum, who currently makes more news for his odd hairstyles rather than his on court presence.
Nick Young Sporting the Afro-Mullet:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
