LeBron's Headband and the Most Ridiculous Athlete Accessories

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With the Miami Heat potentially on the verge of winning their first championship of the LeBron James era, King James has naturally been getting the 24-hour-a-day news treatment by the sports media. Then again, when isn't LeBron dominating the news?

Even LeBron's famous headband makes headlines on the regular. Almost anytime he changes it up, tosses one to a fan or doubles up on the headbands, it's a newsworthy event. But we all know that LeBron isn't the only athlete with newsworthy accessories. 

At least LeBron's is practical and serves dual purposes, which is more than I can say for a lot of other athlete accessories. Some memorable ones over the years have been purely functional, but most have been purely ridiculous. 

Let's take a look at some memorably ridiculous accessories over the years. 

20. LeBron James' Head Band

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Obviously LeBron's headband is a good place to start. 

A headband isn't really all that ridiculous of an accessory, but it's become synonymous with Heat superstar LeBron James' receding hairline. We all know he has a bit of a complex about his hairline given that he was spotted wearing two headbands to cover it up this past April.

I don't really have an opinion one way or the other on the headband, but there's one LeBroniac out there who is pretty passionate about it. Girl couldn't wait to put sweaty headband on after LeBron tossed it to her after a win in the NBA Finals. 

19. Serena Williams' Everything

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Serena Williams considers herself more of a fashionista than an athlete. In a recent interview, Williams confessed that she doesn't love tennis, sports or working out and that she only did it because she was good at it. 

That explains why she was always desperate to be noticed as the worst dressed player at any tournament. Williams put a lot of time and effort into those crazy outfits and was known to wear more jewelry than the Queen of England. 

Williams over-accessorizing will suit her well in her career as rap's next superstar. 

18. Barry Bond's Body Armor

Image via SFGate

In 2007, everybody's favorite steroid punching bag Barry Bonds starting wearing body armor on his arms. I thought I read it had something to do with his swing, but apparently these monstrous things were just to protect his arms. 

As if Bonds didn't have enough of a competitive advantage with the PEDs, but his exoskeleton gave him freedom to crowd the plate with almost no threat of injury should the pitcher decide to pop him.

17. Tyson Chandler's Capes

Image via blogs.thescore.com

First, a big thanks to TheScore blog for this fantastic dramatization because there are no pictures of Knicks' starter Tyson Chandler wearing one of his wardrobe staples. 

Chandler was recently named one of Women's Wear Daily's 50 Most Stylish New Yorkers Right Now. During the interview, he discussed some of his most "dramatic" wardrobe pieces and confessed to owning a few Gothic capes. 

If he's so proud of his fashionable wardrobe and capes, how come we have yet to see him strutting down the streets of New York in one? 

16. Robert Griffin III's Socks

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Uh oh. There's another Superman in town—Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neal cannot be happy about this.

Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III's affinity for flashy socks is a well established fact at this point—he wore these Superman socks to the Heisman Trophy presentation in late 2011. 

RG3 wasn't even afraid to defend his penchant for silly socks in the face of one Jon Gruden as a guest at the former NFL coach's quarterback camp on ESPN. He even brought Gruden his very own pair of goofy socks, and Gruden actually wore them. 

15. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Goggles

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NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is enough of a badass to pull off just about anything. Although I must say, in the case of his famously goofy goggles, he just barely pulled them off. 

It was a matter of safety rather than fashion, having taken to wearing them after having his cornea scratched in a college game against Houston. But I'm just not sure why he didn't attempt to find something a bit more fashionable. 

Like I said though, Kareem is king—and if the king wants to wear his goggles, well then, we should probably let him. 

14. Merril Hoge's Weirdo Ties

Image via ESPN

ESPN's Merril Hoge's comically oversized tie knots have become a running joke on the interwebs and even occasionally on NFL Live, courtesy of an always ball-busting Trey Wingo. 

Which means Hoge is well aware that his ties are ridiculous and the subject of public mockery, but apparently he just doesn't care. I used to think that he had specialty ties made to create that magically large knot, but he does not. 

When Hoge takes his jacket off, you'll notice that his tie doesn't extend much beyond his man nipples. He's sacrificing tie length for knot girth. 

13. NBA Players' Lensless Glasses

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There's been a lot of discussion about the recent trend of NBA players wearing lensless glasses. In fact, two of the biggest offenders in the league are both stars in the 2012 NBA Finals—Russell Westbrook and Dwyane Wade. 

As someone who requires glasses or contacts to…ya know…see things, this whole thing has been a little aggravating. I don't care that these guys routinely show up to postgame press conferences dressed like clowns—just lose the glasses.

12. Kyle Vanden Bosch's Red Contacts

Image via TheBostonJam

The first time I noticed Lions defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch's freaky red contacts, I completely freaked out. It was during the course of a game years back, and I thought that he suffered some kind of head injury that was making his eyeballs bleed. 

Thankfully, there was someone on hand who had knowledge of Vanden Bosch's Satan contacts who was able to explain the situation to me before I started crying. (I'm an emotional drunk sometimes.)

11. Turk Wendell's Teeth Necklace

Former relief pitcher Turk Wendell was known for being a bit of an eccentric, and apparently a lot of his eccentricities revolved around teeth. Wendell was known to brush his teeth in the dugout between each inning. 

He also famously wore this gross necklace that was made from the teeth of animals that he had hunted. Wendell's vulgar teeth collection included mountain lions and polar bears. 

10. Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s Justin Bieber

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Floyd Mayweather Jr. has countless ridiculous accessories. Money has 50 Cent, a closet full of fur coats, all kinds of flashy belts, and who knows how many diamond incrusted pendents that say things like "Philthy Rich."

But his most ridiculous accessory by far has to be tween sensation Justin Bieber. When Mayweather made his way to the ring for his bout with Miguel Cotto, the Biebs was noticeably noticeable. The Twitterverse was set into overdrive with "WTFs."

9. Brian Wilson's Cane (and Beard)

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Giants relief pitcher Brian Wilson's beard is the best accessory in all of sports. It's equal parts ridiculous and hilarious, and it's responsible for putting Wilson on the map. Before the beard, he was just another frat-looking bro with a faux hawk.  

Now, I realize there isn't a black tie event every day, so Wilson probably doesn't bust out the spandex tuxedo that often. But the fact that he knew to pair it with a cane and white gloves shows he knows how to complete a look. 

8. Ivan Johnson's Diamond Grill

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I don't mean to pick on NBA players—they aren't the only athletes known to flush their money down the toilet. Maybe they are just more noticeable because there are less guys on the team; perhaps kicker Jay Feely has a diamond grill and nobody has noticed because there are too many people around him. 

Anyway, this past January, Hawks forward Ivan Johnson was spotted on the bench rocking a diamond grill. Pretty impressive that a dude who plays nine minutes a game gets paid enough to waste piles of money on teeth decorations. 

Plus, aren't we over grills by now? 

7. Greg Raymer's Glasses

Image via Guyism

There are countless poker players with ridiculous accessories: headphones, sunglasses, giant hats and the like are all commonplace at the poker table. But when it comes to freaky and ridiculous, nothing beats Greg Raymer's infamous eyeball sunglasses. 

I can't even imagine having to sit across this guy at a tournament for hours on end. I'm pretty sure it would knock me off my game completely and get into my head after awhile. Which is probably the point. 

6. Chris Johnson's Gold Teeth

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Listen, I have no idea why Chris Johnson has those horrendous gold teeth. He's a relatively young guy, so I can't imagine that it was some kind of dental necessity to have his teeth replaced. 

They look like they're permanent, rather than your standard grill, but I'm really not sure. I've never seen him without the gold teeth, but in 2009 Johnson tweeted that he missed the team bus as he had to go back to fetch his gold teeth.

5. Clinton Portis' Prop Comedy Box

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I only kind of remember running back Clinton Portis' career in the NFL at this point—an above-average talent who always seemed to be injured. That sounds about right…right? 

What I vividly remember about Portis is his ridiculous wigs, fake teeth, oversized sunglasses, sparkly capes, goofy masks and everything else you'd find in Carrot Top's bag of toys. 

Some people really liked this about Portis, but I thought it made him look like a clown who didn't take his job seriously. And I suspect he's going to be dealing with a lot of that if he's serious about trying to make a comeback in 2012. 

4. Joe Namath's Fur Coats

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"Broadway Joe" Namath was well known for his way with the ladies and his flashy sense of style. Oh, and he was also known to throw the ball around a little as quarterback for the New York Jets. 

Namath's super hip sense of style famously included elaborate fur coats that he actually wore on the Jets sideline. You know Joe had to have been a Grade-A badass to get away with this in the NFL. 

3. Marquis Daniels' Necklace of His Own Head

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Celtics forward Marquis Daniels knows a solid investment when he sees one. In 2011 Daniels blew what you know had to be an unholy sum of money on a custom made diamond and gold pendant of his own damn likeness. Seriously. 

Actually, I have no idea why I said "custom made," as if anyone would assume this monstrosity was sold down at your nearest Zales. There are no reports on how much he paid for this thing, but something tells me when he has to sell it for cash down the road, he won't get anything near its purchase price.

2. Mike Tyson's Face Tattoo

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I don't normally think of a tattoo as an accessory because they are usually covered up for the most part. Actually, even if they're not covered up, I don't normally consider them an accessory. But there's one exception: the face tattoo. 

When you get a face tattoo it becomes a part of everything you wear, everything you do and pretty much everything you are. When Mike Tyson first showed up in public with that massive face tattoo, many figured it was just another stop along his spiral to the bottom. 

Turns out it was kind of the turning point in his life. Since getting his dome inked, Tyson has landed movie roles, television shows and now he's got his own Broadway show. 

1. Dennis Rodman's Everything

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Has there ever been anyone in sports with more ridiculous accessories than former Bulls bad boy Dennis Rodman? On the court and off, Rodman was absolutely devoted to looking like a sideshow at all times. 

His hair, tattoos and multiple piercings were only the beginning. Rodman has dressed in drag, donned hats of fur and suits of leather. He obviously likes to stand out, but his extremes have made him a punchline and diminished his NBA legacy.