Inside the Barbershops Keeping the NBA Shaped Up in the Bubble

Back in April, about a month after the NBA’s emergency COVID-19 shutdown, Will Rondo started hearing rumblings about a restart. A decade ago, Rondo turned the favors he was doing for his younger brother Rajon—the Lakers point guard—into Superior Global Travel & Concierge, a company that helps NBA players and celebrities book transportation, plan nights on the town, or even just arrange for someone to pick their kids up from daycare in a tight squeeze. Now, he had to figure out how to make himself useful with all of his biggest clients sequestered in a tightly sealed bubble. He fired off a list of 15 potential services he could provide to Michelle Roberts, head of the NBA player's union, and she responded a few weeks later, curious about one in particular: haircuts.

“I told her: ‘When you look good, you feel good,’” Rondo explains from his room in the bubble. That’s a maxim the vast majority of NBA players understand all too well. We tend to marvel at pregame fits around these parts—when LeBron turns up in an unbuttoned shirt, or Serge Ibaka strolls in wearing a scarf the size of New Jersey, it makes headlines. But grooming is just as integral to the NBA experience in 2020: players have been known to fly their preferred stylists across the country for a shape up on game day, and every practice facility in the league now comes equipped with its own barbershop. And, given the months-long quarantine the entire league was emerging from, these guys were going to be desperate for a cut—and possibly a pedicure, but more on that later. 

With Rondo running point, the NBA managed to quickly produce a fairly comprehensive grooming program for their Disney World digs: three barbershops, including an impressive standalone pop-up at the center of the main campus, staffed by a crew of six barbers, three stylists, and three nail techs, all available six days a week. To get a closer look inside the busiest hive in the bubble, GQ hopped on the phone with Rondo after a long day fielding appointments and last-minute requests from players trying to look their best.

GQ: You started with a pool of 50 barbers and eventually whittled that down to six. How intense was the selection process? I’m picturing a Survivor-style elimination show, only with a bunch of razors.

Will Rondo: It was definitely difficult, but it wasn’t that competitive because the guys didn’t know who they were going up against. It was more about asking all of them repeated questions to figure out who would perform best in this kind of situation. Some of them own multiple shops or had commitments and couldn’t fit the timeline. We’re giving them two or three weeks notice, and then they have to go tell their wife and kids and business partners, “Hey, I’m going to be gone for a month and a half.” So that weeded a lot of people out fast.

And then even though the accommodations are nice, it’s still a bubble. It’s isolating. You can’t go anywhere. You can’t go to the store, you can’t see your family, you’ve got to be right there for four to six weeks or even longer. There’s all this uncertainty—it’s an unprecedented situation, nobody’s ever done this before. So the six barbers, three stylists, and three nail technicians I was able to select, they all took this as a blessing and an opportunity to both grow their brands and do something that’s never been done before, to be a part of history. I was looking for people who had that type of mentality, who were willing to sacrifice their time and lifestyle to be part of this bigger picture.

What does an average day look like for the barbershop staff?

The day-to-day life in the bubble is fun, because it's not too strenuous. Being on the same campus as all these players, though, you do feel short a lot. [Laughs] The barbershops are open from 9 AM to 9 PM, with breaks for four hours of cleaning throughout the day. Each [client] is allotted an hour for barbering, an hour for a mani and pedi, and then around two hours for braiding. So we're not rushed. We have three different locations, so if one location at one hotel is booked, we have alternate spots to make special arrangements for players to get cuts at the last minute on game days.

We're definitely trying to accommodate the players and make sure that they come first, but we're also trying to keep the experience as good as possible for everybody by not constantly shuffling people in and out. This is their relaxation time, their feel good time, and we want to make sure everyone feels valued and important, from the assistant coach to the star player. This is their time away from "work", so we provide the services and make sure it's fun. We have movies on TVs—Like Mike, Above the Rim, Space Jam. We have Beats headphones and portable audio players for the players to connect to them. So when the guys come in, they can create their own vibe. Some people like gospel and jazz, some guys like rap and R&B. It's just whatever kind of vibe you want to have.

And then the barbers, they have relationships with a lot of the players and have really gotten to know them over the course of the last four to six weeks. There's a familiar face, a friendly face. They talk about stuff, they laugh, they joke about things, and then they come out looking even better than they came in. That’s definitely what we try to provide: an experience where they can come in and just relax, be themselves, be on their phones, take photos for Instagram, whatever.

Wait, sorry: did you say Like Mike? Like, the Lil Bow Wow movie?

Everyone has their own vibe! It's kind of funny. ESPN is something that guys watch on the regular, but a lot of guys just want to kind of watch the movies that inspired them when they were young. It’s just one of those things I've had requests for all the time—basketball movies are definitely number one. I’m a little older, so it’s funny to me, but these guys are all 19, 20 years old.

Anybody coming from a low-income, dysfunctional situation, dreaming about becoming a star—that's everybody’s Cinderella dream progression, so it resonates with a lot of players.

Fair enough. Are the barbers allowed to go to games on their downtime?

No, we don't really have too much downtime. We're working Monday through Saturday. And the NBA is rightfully being very strict to ensure everyone stays safe—if you’re not essential, you’re not allowed in to watch the games in person. We’re all just trying to ensure that everything goes right until they crown the champion.

So you mentioned there are three locations throughout the bubble. A big part of choosing your own barber is the culture in the barbershop itself—the kind of conversations happening, the overall energy. Is there a different vibe coming out of each one?

Oh, absolutely. The main one is at the Gran Destino. Teams like the Jazz, Raptors, Lakers, and Celtics are all in that area, so it’s always humming, it's always loud, it's always laughing. You might be passing by, and you’re running into the guy you just played yesterday and the guy you're going to play tomorrow. It's a vibe—it's a bright, lively type of feel. There’s also an adjoining suite with more of a relaxing jazz vibe to get your nails and feet done. It’s a lot of space to give you more of that personal, one-on-one type of feeling. And then next door, you have the braiding section, where we do locs and twists. So you have everything from R&B to movies to Caribbean music playing, depending on what vibe the players have. That’s definitely where most of the big-name guys—the teams at the top of the hub—are staying and coming through, so it’s continuously busy.

Then you’ve got the Grand Floridian, which has a lot of players as well, but it's really spread out. That’s where we have the barber mobile site you’ve seen set up, right in the center of the lawn, next to the pool. It's right next door to the players-only section of the bubble, so everyone sees it when they go past. It's got that center stage type of vibe. OKC is there, the Mavericks are there, so you have a lot of big-name players there as well. The Grand Floridian is this big white building, so it's definitely a presidential type of feel.

And then finally, you have the Yacht Club, which is where a lot of the play-in contingent teams are staying. You got the Spurs, the Pelicans, those teams like that. It’s a lot of younger players, so the vibe is just always like a party. It's spread out, there’s a lot of windows and lights, so it’s got an outdoor club type of feel. That one stays with music blaring and partying and players coming in laughing and joking. That’s where they do a lot of the Instagramming and things like that, because they loved the way they look afterwards.

Has anybody come in with really wild requests for cuts? Did anybody show up in the bubble looking especially dusty and desperately in need of a clean up?

Well, we’ve all had that quarantine growth, right? I’d say at least 70% of the league showed up that way. Before the first week of games it was a madhouse—everyone came in. As soon as they found out we were open, the phones never stopped ringing. Everybody wanted to go back to feeling like themselves, and a lot of people wanted to reinvent themselves. It’s cool to see so many players that didn’t have hair that do now. I mean, shit, my brother is one of them!

Anyway, these guys know what they want. A lot of them come in with a certain style in mind, and they’ll bring pictures and everything. Sometimes their hair isn't long enough, so we got to do an abbreviation of the style. But our groomers and stylists are so in sync, that they can make things happen and make sure everyone leaves happy. It’s a team effort a lot of the time: a guy will come in and get his hair twisted and braided, and then he’ll go to the barber to get lined up and faded and looking amazing. And then you go for the trifecta and get your feet done. You’re a brand new man when you come out of there.

So speaking of getting your feet done: I’ve heard for a long time that NBA players love their manis and pedis. What’s the deal there? Why is it such a big thing for these dudes?

There isn’t one player that doesn't appreciate a pedicure. You're running on your feet all day, you're jumping, you're stomping, you get your feet stepped on. To have someone massage and rub your feet and make you feel good—they take a lot of abuse, and you got to think, those are their moneymakers, right? Their hands and feet. Take care of your body parts, they take care of you. It's something to see. We've got players coming in with size 10 shoes, all the way up to certain players who wear size 22 shoes. They all come in and get pedicures. Coaches as well. Once you leave, you feel like you're walking on pillows, walking on air, it brightens your day for anybody.

You’ve been around the league for a long time, but is this the craziest thing you’ve ever experienced? Even an All-Star Weekend can’t really compare to the sheer number of talent all in one place at one time, right?

No, not 300 guys. And it’s been cool to see all these stars, all these guys you watch on TV, all in one place and just being friendly. There’s a real brotherhood vibe inside the bubble. Because even though everyone's competing for a championship, everyone knows that life outside the bubble is in disarray. Things are bigger than just the bubble. Social injustice. Police brutality. A global pandemic. They're not oblivious to what goes on outside of the bubble, and they’re thankful to be somewhere safe, doing something they love. They’re thankful to be able to provide entertainment for people at a time where not a lot of things are going right for a lot of people. So the NBA players are amazing. They're grateful, they're humble, and they’re ambassadors for the rest of the world to see that we can come from all walks of life and still get along.

So you haven’t witnessed any real heated moments between guys after playing a tough game the night before?

Nah. Once the game's over, they know it was a game. There's a lot more serious things out in the world. You see a lot more playing around or joking with each other about that one turnover, or that twentieth time he fell down or went the wrong way. Guys that used to be teammates before trades and free agency are getting to see each other again, catch up, and ask about each other's families and how the kids are doing. That camaraderie is what they look forward to and what they talk about. No one really discusses anything that happened in games. It hasn’t gotten that intense yet. I don't know what the Finals are going to be like, but right now everybody is just kind of catching up.

The game’s leading crunch-time player is also the people’s champion.

Originally Appeared on GQ