Stephen Curry’s senior thesis

In a Grantland article about Steph Curry returning to school during the lockout, he discussed his senior thesis topic:

He enrolled in three classes this semester: a class on the history of education, a medical sociology class, and today’s qualitative research class. The research class is a precursor for Curry’s thesis. He is planning to write on the relationship between basketball players and tattoos. He has already polled about five players and drawn a surprising correlation. Nearly all the players said they wouldn’t have as many tattoos if they weren’t in the NBA spotlight, and they certainly wouldn’t be as visible, because they believed it would damage their prospects at other employment.

Curry has only one discreet tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. It reads “T.C.C.” and stands for trust, commitment, and care. Curry received the tattoo along with four teammates, and it served as their motto. The idea for the thesis arrived while Curry drove to class and tuned into a sports radio show. The show’s topic concerned Panthers owner Jerry Richardson apparently asking Cam Newton to refrain from any tattoos or piercings. Curry thought about the many NBA players who would have shattered that rule.

STEPH IF YOU’RE READING THIS LET’S HANG OUT!! Just kidding but my head almost exploded when I read this article



NBA tattoos


2012-13 NBA overall tattoo percentage: 56%
250 players with tattoos, 196 without [details]


2011-12 NBA overall tattoo percentage: 55% [details]
2010-11 NBA overall tattoo percentage: 53% [details]

A player-by-player, team-by-team guide to tattoos in the NBA. It is not an attempt to document every tattoo of every player–rather it is an attempt to provide a series of tools for sorting overall tattoo statistics in the NBA alongside glimpses into tattoo trends. Click on any team name below for player details of that team:

Hawks - Celtics - Nets - Bobcats - Bulls - Cavaliers
Mavericks - Nuggets - Pistons - Warriors - Rockets - Pacers
Clippers - Lakers - Grizzlies - Heat - Bucks - Timberwolves
Hornets - Knicks - Thunder - Magic - Sixers - Suns
Trail Blazers - Kings - Spurs - Raptors - Jazz - Wizards

Click HERE for a complete list of NBA players discussed on this blog.

Disclaimer: This info is collected completely anecdotally, mostly by watching games, but also through study of photos, interviews, and player profiles. It’s very likely that tattoos have gone unobserved or remain hidden, especially on non-superstar players. Every effort has been made to present the best possible information, but statistics should not be considered definitive. Please use Ask Me to share any relevant information.