Toronto Raptors, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos, 8 without)
The Raptors’ tattoo percentage dropped for the second year in a row, decreasing slightly from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Quincy Acy
Acy has tattoos on both arms.
DeMar DeRozan
In April of 2012, DeRozan added a full back piece to his collection of tattoos.
Rudy Gay
At the end of 2012, Gay added the initials “NRA” to his left hand in tribute to his grandmother who recently passed away.
Amir Johnson
As reported by ESPN, Johnson continued his tattoo story after the 2011-12 season ended:
“I got a few new tattoos this summer. I got a collage of the ‘Spawn’ characters on my calf. I used to like the comic book when I was a kid, so it represents that part of me. I also got the Eye of Horus on my neck, which is the Egyptian symbol for protection and good health.”
John Lucas III
Lucas has a tattoo on his back that reads: “You can’t stop my success this is my destiny, but I will leave you my footprints behind, so you can follow what was left of me.”
Mickael Pietrus
Pietrus has tattoos across his upper torso, including handprints on both shoulders.
Sebastian Telfair
Telfair has the words “LUCKY ME” tattooed on his back, a reference to the Jay-Z song of the same name.
Players without tattoos:
Alan Anderson
Andrea Bargnani
Landry Fields
Aaron Gray
Linas Kleiza
Kyle Lowry
Terrence Ross
Jonas Valanciunas
Amir Johnson’s CALI tattoo
Los Angeles native Amir Johnson recently posted a photo of his “CALI” tattoo on instagram. He recently had the design, one of his oldest, touched up.
ESPN: What NBA players did this summer
ESPN has a nice feature where they ask several NBA players a series of questions about the offseason. For example: “Did you pick up any new hobbies?” or “Who was the coolest person you met this summer?” They also asked “Did you get any new ink?” which revealed some interesting information. The whole piece is worth a look, but the highlight has to be the story about the time Brian Cook tried to get a tattoo:
A couple of years ago my wife tried to take me, man, to get one done by [popular tattoo artist] Kat Von D in L.A., but on the way, I don’t know what happened, I told her to pull over. I started throwing up. She’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ I was like, ‘Take me home.’ I think I was just nervous, man. I guess tattoos aren’t for me. My wife was pregnant with my first son, so I was going to get his name or something to do with my family or a Bible scripture. Maybe I’ll try again sometime soon, but I don’t know.
I like how he sounds flustered, like even the memory puts him in danger of throwing up. Looking forward to seeing Paul George’s lion and tiger tattoos this year, and Amir Johnson’s Spawn collage.
Amir Johnson’s Spawn Tattoo
Last night Amir Johnson posted this photo of his new tattoo via twitter. I like that the printed out image is visible in the background. About five hours earlier, he posted the following announcement, which honestly feels a little baffling:
Not that I thought he was going to get the skull tattooed over his face, but I sort of hoped he was getting a tattoo of himself wearing the bandana?
Toronto Raptors 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 50% (7 players with tattoos, 7 without)
Raptors are in a rebuilding mode this year, and have fewer tattooed players than they did last year.
Players with tattoos:
Jerryd Bayless
Bayless described his massive backpiece as “a college mistake” and goes on to declare that he “regrets it everyday.” He should check in with his new teammate Jamaal Magloire about tattoo removal.
Ed Davis
Davis has tattoos covering both arms.
DeMar DeRozan
On DeRozan’s forearm is a tribute to his grandmother. He also has a tattoo that reads “the Blessed One,” a nickname given to him by his grandmother.
Gary Forbes
Forbes has an interesting elbow-cobweb that fades into a Brooklyn skyline on his left arm.
Amir Johnson
Over the summer, Johnson added the Afro Samurai character to his stomach.
James Johnson
The collection of tattoos on Johnson’s arms includes a collection of aces, a portrait of Christ, an castle turret, and the air Jordan logo.
Jamaal Magloire
In 2008, Magloire had his “Mister Magloire” tattoo removed from his arm. “Not that there’s anything wrong with tattoos,” he explained to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “but, for me, this was the right time, the right choice.”
Players without tattoos:
Solomon Alabi
Alan Anderson
Andrea Bargnani
Jose Calderon
Aaron Gray
Linas Kleiza
Ben Uzoh
No longer on roster:
Rasual Butler: Butler has many tattoos.
Anthony Carter: Carter’s tattoos include his own name in script.
Toronto Raptors, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
The Raptors are an international team with an international roster, including players from France, Nigeria, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Lithuania. American players are far more likely to have tattoos than non-Americans, and a majority of the un-tattooed players on Toronto are from Africa and Europe. However, they do have two of the undeniably rare tattooed foreign players.
—
Players with tattoos:
Alexis Ajinca
Ajinca has a tattoo below his right ear that, as he explained to a reporter in 2010, is ” a symbol that means, ‘The great talent sent from God.’” Apparently it is also the logo for the TV series Heroes, a drama about mutant children.
Leandro Barbosa
Among Barbosa’s few tattoos is the text “Love, sacrifice, and union” on the back of his neck.
Jerryd Bayless
Bayless has a massive backpiece, which he describes as, “a college mistake, I regret it every day.”
Ed Davis
Davis came into the league with heavy coverage of both arms, a rarity in the 2010 rookie class.
DeMar DeRozan
Among DeRozan’s tattoos is a tribute to his grandmother, which he discussed in a 2010 profile: “[Points to his right forearm] This one right here, for my grandmother. I got it done right after last season after she passed. She meant a lot to me — it was only right that I [commemorate her] like that.”
Reggie Evans
Evans has tattoos along both arms, including his mother’s name—Janie—tattooed along his left forearm.
Amir Johnson
His tattoo buddy Sonny Weems posted a photo of Johnson in the tattoo chair on Twitter, and a few hours later posted a detail of the finished design.
James Johnson
Johnson almost sounds defensive when describing his tattoo choices: “All my tattoos mean a little something. I’m not going to put something on myself that doesn’t mean anything. I have a big family so a lot of my tattoos have to do with my family or my religious beliefs.”
Sonny Weems
Clearly a tattoo enabler, not only does Weems accompany his teammates to the tattoo shop, but he occasionally has his artist set up in his house for tattoo parties.
Players without tattoos:
Solomon Alabi
Andrea Bargnani
Jose Calderon
Joey Dorsey
Sundiata Gaines
Linas Kleiza
Julian Wright
Toronto Raptors, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos, 8 without)
The Raptors’ tattoo percentage dropped for the second year in a row, decreasing slightly from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Quincy Acy
Acy has tattoos on both arms.
DeMar DeRozan
In April of 2012, DeRozan added a full back piece to his collection of tattoos.
Rudy Gay
At the end of 2012, Gay added the initials “NRA” to his left hand in tribute to his grandmother who recently passed away.
Amir Johnson
As reported by ESPN, Johnson continued his tattoo story after the 2011-12 season ended:
“I got a few new tattoos this summer. I got a collage of the ‘Spawn’ characters on my calf. I used to like the comic book when I was a kid, so it represents that part of me. I also got the Eye of Horus on my neck, which is the Egyptian symbol for protection and good health.”
John Lucas III
Lucas has a tattoo on his back that reads: “You can’t stop my success this is my destiny, but I will leave you my footprints behind, so you can follow what was left of me.”
Mickael Pietrus
Pietrus has tattoos across his upper torso, including handprints on both shoulders.
Sebastian Telfair
Telfair has the words “LUCKY ME” tattooed on his back, a reference to the Jay-Z song of the same name.
Players without tattoos:
Alan Anderson
Andrea Bargnani
Landry Fields
Aaron Gray
Linas Kleiza
Kyle Lowry
Terrence Ross
Jonas Valanciunas
Amir Johnson’s CALI tattoo
Los Angeles native Amir Johnson recently posted a photo of his “CALI” tattoo on instagram. He recently had the design, one of his oldest, touched up.
ESPN: What NBA players did this summer
ESPN has a nice feature where they ask several NBA players a series of questions about the offseason. For example: “Did you pick up any new hobbies?” or “Who was the coolest person you met this summer?” They also asked “Did you get any new ink?” which revealed some interesting information. The whole piece is worth a look, but the highlight has to be the story about the time Brian Cook tried to get a tattoo:
A couple of years ago my wife tried to take me, man, to get one done by [popular tattoo artist] Kat Von D in L.A., but on the way, I don’t know what happened, I told her to pull over. I started throwing up. She’s like, ‘What’s going on?’ I was like, ‘Take me home.’ I think I was just nervous, man. I guess tattoos aren’t for me. My wife was pregnant with my first son, so I was going to get his name or something to do with my family or a Bible scripture. Maybe I’ll try again sometime soon, but I don’t know.
I like how he sounds flustered, like even the memory puts him in danger of throwing up. Looking forward to seeing Paul George’s lion and tiger tattoos this year, and Amir Johnson’s Spawn collage.
Amir Johnson’s Spawn Tattoo
Last night Amir Johnson posted this photo of his new tattoo via twitter. I like that the printed out image is visible in the background. About five hours earlier, he posted the following announcement, which honestly feels a little baffling:
Not that I thought he was going to get the skull tattooed over his face, but I sort of hoped he was getting a tattoo of himself wearing the bandana?
Toronto Raptors 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 50% (7 players with tattoos, 7 without)
Raptors are in a rebuilding mode this year, and have fewer tattooed players than they did last year.
Players with tattoos:
Jerryd Bayless
Bayless described his massive backpiece as “a college mistake” and goes on to declare that he “regrets it everyday.” He should check in with his new teammate Jamaal Magloire about tattoo removal.
Ed Davis
Davis has tattoos covering both arms.
DeMar DeRozan
On DeRozan’s forearm is a tribute to his grandmother. He also has a tattoo that reads “the Blessed One,” a nickname given to him by his grandmother.
Gary Forbes
Forbes has an interesting elbow-cobweb that fades into a Brooklyn skyline on his left arm.
Amir Johnson
Over the summer, Johnson added the Afro Samurai character to his stomach.
James Johnson
The collection of tattoos on Johnson’s arms includes a collection of aces, a portrait of Christ, an castle turret, and the air Jordan logo.
Jamaal Magloire
In 2008, Magloire had his “Mister Magloire” tattoo removed from his arm. “Not that there’s anything wrong with tattoos,” he explained to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “but, for me, this was the right time, the right choice.”
Players without tattoos:
Solomon Alabi
Alan Anderson
Andrea Bargnani
Jose Calderon
Aaron Gray
Linas Kleiza
Ben Uzoh
No longer on roster:
Rasual Butler: Butler has many tattoos.
Anthony Carter: Carter’s tattoos include his own name in script.
Toronto Raptors, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
The Raptors are an international team with an international roster, including players from France, Nigeria, Brazil, Italy, Spain, and Lithuania. American players are far more likely to have tattoos than non-Americans, and a majority of the un-tattooed players on Toronto are from Africa and Europe. However, they do have two of the undeniably rare tattooed foreign players.
—
Players with tattoos:
Alexis Ajinca
Ajinca has a tattoo below his right ear that, as he explained to a reporter in 2010, is ” a symbol that means, ‘The great talent sent from God.’” Apparently it is also the logo for the TV series Heroes, a drama about mutant children.
Leandro Barbosa
Among Barbosa’s few tattoos is the text “Love, sacrifice, and union” on the back of his neck.
Jerryd Bayless
Bayless has a massive backpiece, which he describes as, “a college mistake, I regret it every day.”
Ed Davis
Davis came into the league with heavy coverage of both arms, a rarity in the 2010 rookie class.
DeMar DeRozan
Among DeRozan’s tattoos is a tribute to his grandmother, which he discussed in a 2010 profile: “[Points to his right forearm] This one right here, for my grandmother. I got it done right after last season after she passed. She meant a lot to me — it was only right that I [commemorate her] like that.”
Reggie Evans
Evans has tattoos along both arms, including his mother’s name—Janie—tattooed along his left forearm.
Amir Johnson
His tattoo buddy Sonny Weems posted a photo of Johnson in the tattoo chair on Twitter, and a few hours later posted a detail of the finished design.
James Johnson
Johnson almost sounds defensive when describing his tattoo choices: “All my tattoos mean a little something. I’m not going to put something on myself that doesn’t mean anything. I have a big family so a lot of my tattoos have to do with my family or my religious beliefs.”
Sonny Weems
Clearly a tattoo enabler, not only does Weems accompany his teammates to the tattoo shop, but he occasionally has his artist set up in his house for tattoo parties.
Players without tattoos:
Solomon Alabi
Andrea Bargnani
Jose Calderon
Joey Dorsey
Sundiata Gaines
Linas Kleiza
Julian Wright
