Great Moments In Rockets Grooming History

In honor of a campaign being launched by Adidas we’re taking a look at what can only be described as one of the more unique looks in Rockets history. I wrestled with several candidates for this write-up. Would I go with Von Wafer and his mowhawk that helped to power this Rockets team into and through the post-season? Surely his fiercely displayed hair had to leave its mark on this franchise. Would I go with Ron Artest’s (in)famous Rockets logo head shaving? Certainly his idiosyncrasies in style, behavior, and speech would be leading the charge in this write up.

Why couldn’t we look at Tracy McGrady? His short hair isn’t the focus but more the beard that he would grow as soon as he became out of shape during his knee-based-woes. The cluster of hair used to cover his pudge became the easily recognizable cover-up to a player who had quit on his team. Would I go with the Latin romancer known as Luis Scola? His waving locks flowing as he runs up and down the court bound only by a loose band have become emblematic of the Houston Rockets the last two seasons.

Luis Scola bobblehead night is one of the more fun nights, the Rockets have had a Luis Scola wig night, and at the end of the day, you need to show respect for long-haired blokes who DON’T wind up looking like lumberjacks (I’m looking at you, Chris Kaman).

No, my friends, the winner of this coveted prize goes to Martyn "Moochie" Norris.

Moochie spent much of his career bouncing around colleges, professional teams, and barbershops. He had stints with the Rockets from 1999-2004/2005 and again from 2005-2006. The best way to discuss his look as he drove to the basket was a cross between Uncle Phil from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Don King (See: Above). Often times his hair looked as surprised as his face did every time he took to the floor and he only bolstered the hair parade with a chin-lining beard with a wrap around mustache/goatee.

Truly Moochie was a trailblazer of follicle fashion during his time in the NBA. Moochie’s afro managed to spark a miniature cult-following eventually necessitating his own bobble-head. In the upcoming release of Fallout: Houston this bobble head is slated to allow the user to trade it in for a perk that unlocks all the areas on the map. Norris eventually went on to a cornrow phase that made his afro and beard combination look tame by comparison. Thankfully for fans, Moochie was the Johnny Appleseed of hairstyles bringing his unique aesthetic to several teams, including the Grizzlies, Supersonics, Rockets, Knicks, and Hornets.

During his career he was relatively obscure on the stat sheet but consistently managed to find some team to run with. As of today, Moochie lives in the Houston area and his last NBA profile photo shows his hair has departed us. Fortunately for all of us a quick browse of Google images reminds us of some of the greatest hair in Houston Rockets history.