In the most heated NBA head controversy since Carlos Boozer’s sprayed-on hair, Kevin Garnett’s appearance at the Celtics game Sunday for Paul Pierce’s jersey retirement has brought a simmering debate to a boil.

What is up with his hood?

Sitting courtside with former Celtics teammate Rajon Rondo and coach Doc Rivers, Garnett was wearing a black hoodie in what has recently become his trademark fashion — with his hood barely clinging to the back-left side of his head.

No way that stays on without tape pic.twitter.com/gCqD0wkxvc — CJ Fogler (@cjzero) February 11, 2018

No matter the angle, it was unclear how Garnett kept his hood in place.

Was he using tape? Glue? Magic? Theories on social media abounded.


“I think he tapes it on his head,” Pierce said Monday during an episode of ESPN’s The Jump, when asked of Garnett’s “post-retirement look.”

However, the peculiar fashion statement — and apparent physics-defying nature — of Garnett’s hood is nothing new. Garnett has also sported the look during his TNT show Area 21, much to the befuddlement of some viewers. No matter how much Garnett moved around, his hood inexplicably remained hanging from the corner of his head.

Take, for instance, these clips from an Area 21 episode last week, in which Garnett rebounds and demonstrates spacing scenarios in a pick-and-roll.

“The player I had a problem with was Brandon Roy… He was great on the pick & roll.” -Trenton Hassell takes us through the five toughest players he ever had to guard. #KGArea21 ? pic.twitter.com/EK0SNKJQS4 — KG's Area 21 (@KGArea21) February 7, 2018

Never once does his hood fall of his head.

When asked about the mystery during an off-air segment of Area 21 just another week earlier, Garnett denied he used tape to keep the hood in place. Instead, he indicated that he shaves his head from back-to-front — with the grain, so to speak — which purportedly creates enough traction to keep the hood in place.

“Then it feels like sandpaper, so it won’t go nowhere,” Garnett said, adding that the look serves the added purpose of concealing his earpiece he uses for the show.

Case closed? I guess it all depends on whether you believe Garnett or The Truth.