The Stories behind Knicks and Nets players’ tattoos
Last week, the New York Post ran a story running through the tattoos of both New York teams. There are some nice details of designs on Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and CJ Watson. There’s also a telling quote from Randy Harris of Tattoos by Randy who reminds us that players will be held accountable for their tattoos so everyone puts a lot of thought into what they’re getting. The best part is a quote from Kenyon Martin about the tattoo reading “Bad Ass Yellow Boy” on his torso: “Down South, they call light-skinned people yellow. When I got to college, there was a song out by some guys from New Orleans called UNLV. They had made the song, and that was my theme song.”
New York Knicks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
The Knicks tattoo percentage decreased a bit over last year.
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony caused a bit of controversy during the 2012 American League Division Series by rooting for the Orioles instead of the Yankees. When challenged by the New York Post about this allegiance, Anthony pointed to a tattoo of the Orioles logo on his arm and explained that he’d been a fan of the team since he was a child.
Marcus Camby
A long profile of Camby appeared on ESPN Boston earlier this year in honor of UMass retiring his jersey. The article mentions that Camby got his first tattoo—“a ball, a hoop, and ‘Mr. Camby’ on his left triceps”—following his sophomore season at UMass.
Tyson Chandler
Chandler appeared naked on the cover of the 2012 “Body” issue of ESPN the Magazine. The photo revealed that Chandler has a section of the bible verse Joshua 1:9 tattooed on the right side of his ribcage: “Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Jason Kidd
Kidd’s rarely seen panther tattoo speaks to his longtime love of big cats: “I got this tattoo so long ago. All the way back to about the time I was drafted by the Mavericks. I got it done at a shop in the Bay Area (San Francisco). I just like tigers, panthers, cats in general. I have always wanted to own a panther.”
Kenyon Martin
The Sports Illustrated Vault twitter account recently dug out an old photo of Martin in a Nets jersey revealing his usually-hidden “Bad Ass Yellow Boy” tattoo.
Quentin Richardson
A 2010 report by the Orlando Sentinel talks through Richardson’s many designs, and includes his father’s take on his tattoos: “Why you want to write all over yourself? If you want to write, go write a book.”
Iman Shumpert
In January of 2013, Shumpert revealed that he has a tattoo of cartoon character Johnny Bravo on his left arm, as detailed by Ball Don’t Lie.
J.R. Smith
The New York Times ran an exhaustive discussion of Smith’s tattoos in December of 2012, which featured his surprising confession: “I actually hated tattoos. I told myself I would never get like this.”
Amar’e Stoudemire
In February of 2012, Stoudemire’s older brother Hazell passed away. When Stoudemire came back from the funeral, he had a teardrop tattoo beneath his right eye. A clip from the forthcoming Stoudemire documentary “In the Moment” shows the player discussing his brother and the tattoo: “The reason I got the teardrop tattoo is because I’m forever crying inside.”
Players without tattoos:
Earl Barron
Chris Copeland
Raymond Felton
Steve Novak
Pablo Prigioni
James White
No longer on roster:
Kurt Thomas: no
Rasheed Wallace: yes
Anonymous asked: Hello! Any insight into who the artists are who've tattooed many of the NBA players? (Or a list of some of the most famous?) Thanks!
Sure! There are a couple artists who can claim to have tattooed the most NBA players.
The first is Mr. Cartoon, based in Los Angeles. Cartoon is best known for his work with rappers and other musicians—his wikipedia page lists Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Prodigy, Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé. He’s done tattoos for many of the most notoriously tattooed NBA players, including Amar’e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer. He’s also done some charity work with LeBron James, but I’m not sure he he’s done any LBJ’s tattoos.
I think the dude that’s responsible for tattooing the most NBA players has to be Randy Harris from Tattoos by Randy, based in Atlanta. His myspace page is an incredible source of photos of NBA players—Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Richardson, Quentin Richardson, Shelden Williams. The list is long, I mean, Stephen Jackson actually has his own portfolio. If you check his twitter page, you’ll see a lot of dialogue with NBA players. He and Kevin Durant exchanged a lot of discussion about new designs via twitter last summer, culminating in a photo of Randy and Durant’s massive backpiece. The OKC connection doesn’t stop there, as Randy has also done work for Royal Ivey and Eric Maynor. Randy has also done a lot of work for Monta Ellis, and apparently the two go fishing together as well.
I keep meaning to do a rundown of all of the players Randy has tattooed, but in the meantime I saw today on twitter that iHoopAround will premiere a piece about Tattoos by Randy with input from Durant, Maynor, and Daequan Cook. I’ll post a link when that happens….
New York Knicks 2011-12
Tattoo percentage:67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
Last year the Knicks tied with the Lakers for the team with the most tattooed players. There isn’t anything really to be read into the numbers, or the decline—both rookies have tattoos, and their key free agency pickup (Tyson Chandler) has some of the most distinctive designs in the league. A lot of good stories in this collection of tattoos…
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony’s tattoos pretty much speak for themselves—flaming basketballs, West Baltimore, the Puerto Rican flag—so he doesn’t speak to them that often. When he does, it’s pretty funny, as in this interview with Complex:
Complex: Who’s your tattoo artist?
Carmelo: I go to a guy out of Atlanta. I don’t like to get stuck by too many people’s needles. One guy. I did most of them by myself, though.
Complex: Most of the tattoos? You serious?
Carmelo: No. [Laughs]
Mike Bibby
Bibby’s website features a detailed rundown of all of his tattoos.
Tyson Chandler
One of the storylines of the Mavericks’ 2011 championship was Chandler’s maturation. In the offseason, this development manifested itself in his tattoos. He’s in the process of having his first tattoo—a flaming basketball with his name under it—removed. His newest work is a portrait of his son, which is not only one of my favorite designs in recent memory, but also furthers this idea of turning away from self-involvement (tattoo of his name) to the world around him (tattoo of family).
There’s also some evidence in his tattoos that he’s more self-possessed and able to stand on his own. Last March I pointed out that he has an almost-identical tattoo to Allen Iverson. These days he’s filled the design out and added a bunch of work around it, making it his own.
Baron Davis
While the design is a mystery, Davis does have a back tattoo that peeks out of the left side of his uni occasionally.
Josh Harrellson
Although it’s mostly hidden by his jersey, Harrellson has a tattoo of a cross in memory of his grandfather. The Lexington Herald-Ledger article that shares that info also mentions that Jorts “visits children’s hospitals and homeless shelters. He regularly goes to the Humane Society to play with the dogs. ‘I don’t think they get enough love and affection up there,’ he said.”
Jared Jeffries
If you haven’t already, please read this. Jeffries has a crowned basketball tattooed on his left arm.
Iman Shumpert
According to a NY Post profile, Shumpert has “about 15” tattoos.
J.R. Smith
Smith is one of the most heavily tattooed players in the league. This profile from Dime Magazine which covers both his Yankees-flipping “Young Money” neck tattoo and his “married to the game” ring finger NBA tattoo (which includes “I Do” in script) best covers the spectrum of his work.
Amar’e Stoudemire
If I didn’t do this blog I would do a blog that charts out all of the NBA references in Brick Squad songs. “You know Flocka shoot first like John Starks” being my favorite. This French Montana song about Amar’e Stoudemire is pretty likable, even if it’s a little direct. Also, I’m skeptical of the edit but I like thinking that STAT still has a kickflip. Anyway, there’s a visit to the tattoo parlor in the video which is why I’ve included it here. If you are interested in a rundown of all of Stoudemire’s tattoos, I recommend The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac.
Bill Walker
During his rookie year, Walker had the number “1023” tattooed on his neck. The significance, as explained to the Providence Journal, was “to remind myself to never forget where I came from.” Walker grew up at 1023 Minton Street, in Huntington, West Virginia.
Players without tattoos:
Toney Douglas
Landry Fields
Jerome Jordan
Jeremy Lin
Steve Novak
No longer on roster:
Renaldo Balkman:Balkman has “HUSTLE” and “HARDER” tattooed on his calves and on his eyelids.
Monta Ellis
Ellis is one of my favorites in the league. Things got pretty tough for him at the end of this year (and that season-ending concussion was one of the scarier injuries I’ve seen in a long time) but in the colder part of the winter I stayed up late for every single Warriors game, and they were some of the only ones I went back and watched a second time. A big part of that was Monta’s 4th quarter shooting, which I like because he’s creative and athletic and so ridiculously quick, but also because he’s so nonchalant about it. Strolling over to the free throw line like he didn’t just tie the game with four seconds left. Languidly tapping Acie Law’s hand while the whole rest of the team is jumping up and down screaming. He might as well be alone at Sunday morning on a playground. No big deal.
Recently both Ball Don’t Lie and Basketball Jones have reported on Ellis’ “new” tree tattoo. The thing is, the tattoo isn’t new. The earliest I saw the above photo was in January on Portland Roundball Society but I have a feeling it’s older than that. That’s a lot of ink to get mid-season.
The recent attention comes from the new photo of Monta that appears on the Tattoos by Randy myspace page. Randy is an Atlanta-based artist who I think has done more work for NBA players than anyone—Stephen Jackson, Josh Smith, AI, Lou Williams. He’s also Carmelo Anthony’s main guy. Here’s a photo of Randy and Monta fishing together:
more on Randy soon…
Every Team’s Got One: Atlantic Division
About one-sixth of NBA players have a tattoo of a basketball. It makes sense, lots of people commemorate their passions via tattoos: cyclists, chefs, shredders, LL Cool J. Still, what’s amazing is that every team has at least one player with a basketball tattoo, even the Hornets, who only have two tattooed players. Basketball tattoos range from iconic (Jordan jumpman; NBA logo), to narcissistic (Carlos Boozer’s self portrait), to symbolic (basketball wearing a crown, basketball meshed with a cross), to weird (Rip Hamilton’s gravestone). Going division by division, Every Team’s Got One will sort out the the highlights across the league, starting here with the Atlantic division.
Boston Celtics
Shaquille O’Neal:
New Jersey Nets
Damion James:
Deron Williams:
New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony:
Chauncey Billups:
Jared Jeffries:
Philadelphia Sixers
Andre Iguodala:
Toronto Raptors
Sonny Weems:
New York Knicks, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 80% (12 players with tattoos, 3 without)
The easy thing to do would be to talk about Melo and Amar’e, about how the two most tattooed players on the team are the only vital players on the team. About how their tattoo coverage and content puts them in an elite top-20 category of tattooed players, much in the same way they’re both elite, top-20 talents. I’ve spent a lot of this year thinking about tattoos, and I’m certain there isn’t a single design as strangely intense as Stoudemire’s “Poverty/Prophecy” with the two different letterings and shared “P.” I have a similar fascination with Anthony’s “WHO CAN I TRUST” tattoo, with its missing question mark and its even block capitals that resemble the letters on the “do not open” terrorist watch posters at the post office. That Stoudemire has an N.W.A. logo tattooed on his shoulder, and the fact that he got it done in the last two years (instead of like, on his 16th birthday), makes me unspeakably happy.
But it’s just too hard for me to dismiss the rest of the team like that. This mutant combination, built from Zeke-era insanity, Walsh’s scorched earth policy, and baffling trade acquisitions, is necessarily impossible to wrap my head around. For whatever reason, the Knicks ended up tied with the Lakers for most tattooed players on one team in 2010-11, and that’s without Eddy Curry. Or Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson, Starbury, Al Harrington, Quentin Richardson, or any of the other heavily tattooed guys to wear a Knicks uniform in the last few years. I have no idea what’s driving it, but it does make me happy.
—
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony’s tattoos pretty much speak for themselves—flaming basketballs, West Baltimore, the Puerto Rican flag—so he doesn’t speak to them that often. When he does, it’s pretty funny, as in this interview with Complex:
Complex: Who’s your tattoo artist?
Carmelo: I go to a guy out of Atlanta. I don’t like to get stuck by too many people’s needles. One guy. I did most of them by myself, though.
Complex: Most of the tattoos? You serious?
Carmelo: No. [Laughs]
Renaldo Balkman
In 2007, Balkman arrived at training camp with the words “HUSTLE” and “HARDER” tattooed on his left and right calves, respectively. In 2010, Balkman added this motto to his eyelids.
Chauncey Billups
When asked about the “No Pain, No Fame” tattoos on his arms, Billups replied, “that’s me right there. No one can outwork me.”
Anthony Carter
Carter has tattoos covering both arms.
Jared Jeffries
Jeffries has a tattoo of a crowned basketball on his left arm.
Roger Mason Jr.
In 2007, Mason covered his left arm in a meticulous, richly-symbolic tribute to his father. “There’s references from five different centuries and three or four different genres of art,” his tattoo artist, Grant Cobb explained to the Washington Post. “It was something that kind of needed some work, but it means a lot to him, it was real personal….It was really cool to be able to do something like that for him.” Or, in the words of Mason’s then-teammate, DeShawn Stevenson, “that’s blazin’.” Mason himself feels indifferent to the praise: “”Everybody loves it who sees it, but the meaning is what’s important. That’s why I got it.”
Andy Rautins
Rautins has several tattoos: a maple leaf for his native Canada; his name on his bicep; and a tricky design that reads “family” in one direction and “forever” in the other. His father, who also played in the NBA and is currently coach of the Canadian national team and a commentator for the Toronto Raptors, also has the “family/forever” design tattooed on the back of his neck.
Amar’e Stoudemire
Stoudemire runs some of the most complicated and immediately recognizable tattoos in the league, designs that have earned him honors from Inked Magazine and saw him participate in PETA’s “Ink Not Mink” campaign.
Ronny Turiaf
Turiaf has some great tattoos including a lion’s head and the letters “N L F” for “Never Lose Faith,” but when asked to describe his tattoos in this video, he goes straight to the Chinese character on his neck: “”Well I have the first one right here on my neck and it means family because I’m a big family guy.”
Bill Walker
During Walker’s rookie year, he had the number 1023 tattooed on his neck, which he explained to the Providence Journal was, “to remind myself to never forget where I came from.” Walker grew up at 1023 Minton St. in Huntington, West Virginia.
Shawne Williams
Williams has a tattoo on his left forearm.
Shelden Williams
In January of 2011, Atlanta’s Tattoos by Randy posted photos of Shelden Williams with a new tattoo on his chest.
Players without tattoos:
Derrick Brown
Toney Douglas
Landry Fields: confirmed he had no plans to get any tattoos on Twitter.
The Stories behind Knicks and Nets players’ tattoos
Last week, the New York Post ran a story running through the tattoos of both New York teams. There are some nice details of designs on Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and CJ Watson. There’s also a telling quote from Randy Harris of Tattoos by Randy who reminds us that players will be held accountable for their tattoos so everyone puts a lot of thought into what they’re getting. The best part is a quote from Kenyon Martin about the tattoo reading “Bad Ass Yellow Boy” on his torso: “Down South, they call light-skinned people yellow. When I got to college, there was a song out by some guys from New Orleans called UNLV. They had made the song, and that was my theme song.”
New York Knicks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
The Knicks tattoo percentage decreased a bit over last year.
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony caused a bit of controversy during the 2012 American League Division Series by rooting for the Orioles instead of the Yankees. When challenged by the New York Post about this allegiance, Anthony pointed to a tattoo of the Orioles logo on his arm and explained that he’d been a fan of the team since he was a child.
Marcus Camby
A long profile of Camby appeared on ESPN Boston earlier this year in honor of UMass retiring his jersey. The article mentions that Camby got his first tattoo—“a ball, a hoop, and ‘Mr. Camby’ on his left triceps”—following his sophomore season at UMass.
Tyson Chandler
Chandler appeared naked on the cover of the 2012 “Body” issue of ESPN the Magazine. The photo revealed that Chandler has a section of the bible verse Joshua 1:9 tattooed on the right side of his ribcage: “Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Jason Kidd
Kidd’s rarely seen panther tattoo speaks to his longtime love of big cats: “I got this tattoo so long ago. All the way back to about the time I was drafted by the Mavericks. I got it done at a shop in the Bay Area (San Francisco). I just like tigers, panthers, cats in general. I have always wanted to own a panther.”
Kenyon Martin
The Sports Illustrated Vault twitter account recently dug out an old photo of Martin in a Nets jersey revealing his usually-hidden “Bad Ass Yellow Boy” tattoo.
Quentin Richardson
A 2010 report by the Orlando Sentinel talks through Richardson’s many designs, and includes his father’s take on his tattoos: “Why you want to write all over yourself? If you want to write, go write a book.”
Iman Shumpert
In January of 2013, Shumpert revealed that he has a tattoo of cartoon character Johnny Bravo on his left arm, as detailed by Ball Don’t Lie.
J.R. Smith
The New York Times ran an exhaustive discussion of Smith’s tattoos in December of 2012, which featured his surprising confession: “I actually hated tattoos. I told myself I would never get like this.”
Amar’e Stoudemire
In February of 2012, Stoudemire’s older brother Hazell passed away. When Stoudemire came back from the funeral, he had a teardrop tattoo beneath his right eye. A clip from the forthcoming Stoudemire documentary “In the Moment” shows the player discussing his brother and the tattoo: “The reason I got the teardrop tattoo is because I’m forever crying inside.”
Players without tattoos:
Earl Barron
Chris Copeland
Raymond Felton
Steve Novak
Pablo Prigioni
James White
No longer on roster:
Kurt Thomas: no
Rasheed Wallace: yes
Anonymous asked: Hello! Any insight into who the artists are who've tattooed many of the NBA players? (Or a list of some of the most famous?) Thanks!
Sure! There are a couple artists who can claim to have tattooed the most NBA players.
The first is Mr. Cartoon, based in Los Angeles. Cartoon is best known for his work with rappers and other musicians—his wikipedia page lists Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Prodigy, Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé. He’s done tattoos for many of the most notoriously tattooed NBA players, including Amar’e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer. He’s also done some charity work with LeBron James, but I’m not sure he he’s done any LBJ’s tattoos.
I think the dude that’s responsible for tattooing the most NBA players has to be Randy Harris from Tattoos by Randy, based in Atlanta. His myspace page is an incredible source of photos of NBA players—Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Jamal Crawford, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Richardson, Quentin Richardson, Shelden Williams. The list is long, I mean, Stephen Jackson actually has his own portfolio. If you check his twitter page, you’ll see a lot of dialogue with NBA players. He and Kevin Durant exchanged a lot of discussion about new designs via twitter last summer, culminating in a photo of Randy and Durant’s massive backpiece. The OKC connection doesn’t stop there, as Randy has also done work for Royal Ivey and Eric Maynor. Randy has also done a lot of work for Monta Ellis, and apparently the two go fishing together as well.
I keep meaning to do a rundown of all of the players Randy has tattooed, but in the meantime I saw today on twitter that iHoopAround will premiere a piece about Tattoos by Randy with input from Durant, Maynor, and Daequan Cook. I’ll post a link when that happens….
New York Knicks 2011-12
Tattoo percentage:67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
Last year the Knicks tied with the Lakers for the team with the most tattooed players. There isn’t anything really to be read into the numbers, or the decline—both rookies have tattoos, and their key free agency pickup (Tyson Chandler) has some of the most distinctive designs in the league. A lot of good stories in this collection of tattoos…
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony’s tattoos pretty much speak for themselves—flaming basketballs, West Baltimore, the Puerto Rican flag—so he doesn’t speak to them that often. When he does, it’s pretty funny, as in this interview with Complex:
Complex: Who’s your tattoo artist?
Carmelo: I go to a guy out of Atlanta. I don’t like to get stuck by too many people’s needles. One guy. I did most of them by myself, though.Complex: Most of the tattoos? You serious?
Carmelo: No. [Laughs]
Mike Bibby
Bibby’s website features a detailed rundown of all of his tattoos.
Tyson Chandler
One of the storylines of the Mavericks’ 2011 championship was Chandler’s maturation. In the offseason, this development manifested itself in his tattoos. He’s in the process of having his first tattoo—a flaming basketball with his name under it—removed. His newest work is a portrait of his son, which is not only one of my favorite designs in recent memory, but also furthers this idea of turning away from self-involvement (tattoo of his name) to the world around him (tattoo of family).
There’s also some evidence in his tattoos that he’s more self-possessed and able to stand on his own. Last March I pointed out that he has an almost-identical tattoo to Allen Iverson. These days he’s filled the design out and added a bunch of work around it, making it his own.
Baron Davis
While the design is a mystery, Davis does have a back tattoo that peeks out of the left side of his uni occasionally.
Josh Harrellson
Although it’s mostly hidden by his jersey, Harrellson has a tattoo of a cross in memory of his grandfather. The Lexington Herald-Ledger article that shares that info also mentions that Jorts “visits children’s hospitals and homeless shelters. He regularly goes to the Humane Society to play with the dogs. ‘I don’t think they get enough love and affection up there,’ he said.”
Jared Jeffries
If you haven’t already, please read this. Jeffries has a crowned basketball tattooed on his left arm.
Iman Shumpert
According to a NY Post profile, Shumpert has “about 15” tattoos.
J.R. Smith
Smith is one of the most heavily tattooed players in the league. This profile from Dime Magazine which covers both his Yankees-flipping “Young Money” neck tattoo and his “married to the game” ring finger NBA tattoo (which includes “I Do” in script) best covers the spectrum of his work.
Amar’e Stoudemire
If I didn’t do this blog I would do a blog that charts out all of the NBA references in Brick Squad songs. “You know Flocka shoot first like John Starks” being my favorite. This French Montana song about Amar’e Stoudemire is pretty likable, even if it’s a little direct. Also, I’m skeptical of the edit but I like thinking that STAT still has a kickflip. Anyway, there’s a visit to the tattoo parlor in the video which is why I’ve included it here. If you are interested in a rundown of all of Stoudemire’s tattoos, I recommend The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac.
Bill Walker
During his rookie year, Walker had the number “1023” tattooed on his neck. The significance, as explained to the Providence Journal, was “to remind myself to never forget where I came from.” Walker grew up at 1023 Minton Street, in Huntington, West Virginia.
Players without tattoos:
Toney Douglas
Landry Fields
Jerome Jordan
Jeremy Lin
Steve Novak
No longer on roster:
Renaldo Balkman:Balkman has “HUSTLE” and “HARDER” tattooed on his calves and on his eyelids.
Monta Ellis
Ellis is one of my favorites in the league. Things got pretty tough for him at the end of this year (and that season-ending concussion was one of the scarier injuries I’ve seen in a long time) but in the colder part of the winter I stayed up late for every single Warriors game, and they were some of the only ones I went back and watched a second time. A big part of that was Monta’s 4th quarter shooting, which I like because he’s creative and athletic and so ridiculously quick, but also because he’s so nonchalant about it. Strolling over to the free throw line like he didn’t just tie the game with four seconds left. Languidly tapping Acie Law’s hand while the whole rest of the team is jumping up and down screaming. He might as well be alone at Sunday morning on a playground. No big deal.
Recently both Ball Don’t Lie and Basketball Jones have reported on Ellis’ “new” tree tattoo. The thing is, the tattoo isn’t new. The earliest I saw the above photo was in January on Portland Roundball Society but I have a feeling it’s older than that. That’s a lot of ink to get mid-season.
The recent attention comes from the new photo of Monta that appears on the Tattoos by Randy myspace page. Randy is an Atlanta-based artist who I think has done more work for NBA players than anyone—Stephen Jackson, Josh Smith, AI, Lou Williams. He’s also Carmelo Anthony’s main guy. Here’s a photo of Randy and Monta fishing together:
more on Randy soon…
Every Team’s Got One: Atlantic Division
About one-sixth of NBA players have a tattoo of a basketball. It makes sense, lots of people commemorate their passions via tattoos: cyclists, chefs, shredders, LL Cool J. Still, what’s amazing is that every team has at least one player with a basketball tattoo, even the Hornets, who only have two tattooed players. Basketball tattoos range from iconic (Jordan jumpman; NBA logo), to narcissistic (Carlos Boozer’s self portrait), to symbolic (basketball wearing a crown, basketball meshed with a cross), to weird (Rip Hamilton’s gravestone). Going division by division, Every Team’s Got One will sort out the the highlights across the league, starting here with the Atlantic division.
Boston Celtics
Shaquille O’Neal:
New Jersey Nets
Damion James:
Deron Williams:
New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony:
Chauncey Billups:
Jared Jeffries:
Philadelphia Sixers
Andre Iguodala:
Toronto Raptors
Sonny Weems:
New York Knicks, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 80% (12 players with tattoos, 3 without)
The easy thing to do would be to talk about Melo and Amar’e, about how the two most tattooed players on the team are the only vital players on the team. About how their tattoo coverage and content puts them in an elite top-20 category of tattooed players, much in the same way they’re both elite, top-20 talents. I’ve spent a lot of this year thinking about tattoos, and I’m certain there isn’t a single design as strangely intense as Stoudemire’s “Poverty/Prophecy” with the two different letterings and shared “P.” I have a similar fascination with Anthony’s “WHO CAN I TRUST” tattoo, with its missing question mark and its even block capitals that resemble the letters on the “do not open” terrorist watch posters at the post office. That Stoudemire has an N.W.A. logo tattooed on his shoulder, and the fact that he got it done in the last two years (instead of like, on his 16th birthday), makes me unspeakably happy.
But it’s just too hard for me to dismiss the rest of the team like that. This mutant combination, built from Zeke-era insanity, Walsh’s scorched earth policy, and baffling trade acquisitions, is necessarily impossible to wrap my head around. For whatever reason, the Knicks ended up tied with the Lakers for most tattooed players on one team in 2010-11, and that’s without Eddy Curry. Or Wilson Chandler, Nate Robinson, Starbury, Al Harrington, Quentin Richardson, or any of the other heavily tattooed guys to wear a Knicks uniform in the last few years. I have no idea what’s driving it, but it does make me happy.
—
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony’s tattoos pretty much speak for themselves—flaming basketballs, West Baltimore, the Puerto Rican flag—so he doesn’t speak to them that often. When he does, it’s pretty funny, as in this interview with Complex:
Complex: Who’s your tattoo artist?
Carmelo: I go to a guy out of Atlanta. I don’t like to get stuck by too many people’s needles. One guy. I did most of them by myself, though.Complex: Most of the tattoos? You serious?
Carmelo: No. [Laughs]
Renaldo Balkman
In 2007, Balkman arrived at training camp with the words “HUSTLE” and “HARDER” tattooed on his left and right calves, respectively. In 2010, Balkman added this motto to his eyelids.
Chauncey Billups
When asked about the “No Pain, No Fame” tattoos on his arms, Billups replied, “that’s me right there. No one can outwork me.”
Anthony Carter
Carter has tattoos covering both arms.
Jared Jeffries
Jeffries has a tattoo of a crowned basketball on his left arm.
Roger Mason Jr.
In 2007, Mason covered his left arm in a meticulous, richly-symbolic tribute to his father. “There’s references from five different centuries and three or four different genres of art,” his tattoo artist, Grant Cobb explained to the Washington Post. “It was something that kind of needed some work, but it means a lot to him, it was real personal….It was really cool to be able to do something like that for him.” Or, in the words of Mason’s then-teammate, DeShawn Stevenson, “that’s blazin’.” Mason himself feels indifferent to the praise: “”Everybody loves it who sees it, but the meaning is what’s important. That’s why I got it.”
Andy Rautins
Rautins has several tattoos: a maple leaf for his native Canada; his name on his bicep; and a tricky design that reads “family” in one direction and “forever” in the other. His father, who also played in the NBA and is currently coach of the Canadian national team and a commentator for the Toronto Raptors, also has the “family/forever” design tattooed on the back of his neck.
Amar’e Stoudemire
Stoudemire runs some of the most complicated and immediately recognizable tattoos in the league, designs that have earned him honors from Inked Magazine and saw him participate in PETA’s “Ink Not Mink” campaign.
Ronny Turiaf
Turiaf has some great tattoos including a lion’s head and the letters “N L F” for “Never Lose Faith,” but when asked to describe his tattoos in this video, he goes straight to the Chinese character on his neck: “”Well I have the first one right here on my neck and it means family because I’m a big family guy.”
Bill Walker
During Walker’s rookie year, he had the number 1023 tattooed on his neck, which he explained to the Providence Journal was, “to remind myself to never forget where I came from.” Walker grew up at 1023 Minton St. in Huntington, West Virginia.
Shawne Williams
Williams has a tattoo on his left forearm.
Shelden Williams
In January of 2011, Atlanta’s Tattoos by Randy posted photos of Shelden Williams with a new tattoo on his chest.
Players without tattoos:
Derrick Brown
Toney Douglas
Landry Fields: confirmed he had no plans to get any tattoos on Twitter.
