Boston Celtics, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Celtics kept their tattoo percentage even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Brandon Bass
Among Bass’s many tattoos is the phrase “God, Grind, Greatness” on the inside of his left bicep. In a profile by Ben Watanabe, Bass explained that the phrase originated during his high school days:
“During the week, I would work out, and on the weekend I would go play in tournaments. So I was praying, working on my game and then when we were in tournaments, I was getting ranked higher. To me, it equaled success, me praying and working hard, so that’s how I came up with ‘God, Grind, Greatness.’”
Jordan Crawford
Crawford has the words “Fab Five” tattooed on his back of his arms.
Kevin Garnett
As reported by Red’s Army, Garnett got a new tattoo in August of 2012. The design was done at FY Ink, who shared a handful of photos of the work in progress.
Courtney Lee
Lee credits his entire professional career to the guidance and mentoring of Danny Rumph, a promising point guard who died of a heart condition at the age of 21. The two met at Western Kentucky University, where Rumph’s positive influence kept Lee in school and focused on basketball. Following Rumph’s death, Lee designed a tribute to his friend, tattooed on his right arm. As described by Fran Blinebury for NBA.com:
“The tattoo on his right biceps is a drawing of his friend wearing his Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap on his head, with wings sprouting from his shoulders and holding a basketball with the No. 11 inside. A couple of other Western Kentucky teammates, Anthony Winchester and Elgrace Wilborn, have the same tattoo that Lee had sketched out.”
Fab Melo
Melo has a tattoo on his right shoulder.
Paul Pierce
In September 2000, just before Pierce’s third year as a pro, he was stabbed 11 times at a nightclub in Boston. Several years later, he had a basketball with a dagger through it tattooed on his arm. As described by Pierce to the website Vegas Deluxe, “It represents how close I came to losing my life. Basketball is my gift and my curse. Obviously there are all the good things that come from playing basketball, but you also have to deal with all the negative things that come with being a basketball player.”
Rajon Rondo
Rondo has the double-R Rolls Royce logo tattooed on his back, which also references his initials.
Jason Terry
Terry has a tattoo of Underdog, which he explained in a 2008 Dime Magazine interview: “I never was seen as one of the best players on the court ’til senior year of high school. Even at Arizona, I was not a starter ’til senior year.”
Chris Wilcox
Wilcox has tattoos on both arms.
Terrence Williams
Williams is one of several heavily-tattooed players from Seattle. A 2009 New York Times profile touched upon this phenomenon, noting that Williams and Nate Robinson grew up together “in the Seattle development referred to as “8 Block,” a reference to the government-assisted housing known as Section 8.” Two of the most heavily-inked players in the league, Williams and Robinson have a matching tattoo of the number 8 inside a spiderweb to commemorate their shared adolescence.
Players without tattoos:
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Shavlik Randolph
Jared Sullinger
D.J. White
Boston Celtics 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos/5 without)
The Celtics tattoo percentage remained the same as last year.
—
Players with tattoos:
Brandon Bass
Heavily tattooed on both arms.
Marquis Daniels
In 2009, Urban Ink magazine interviewed Daniels about his tattoos. He talks about the shotgun suicide one, and the one that reads “look through the eyes of a killer” but also talks about the one he got for his grandparents:
When I was younger, I used to have to read the Bible to my grandmother and grandfather all the time, and that was their favorite scripture. It was like, always remember the scripture. If youre down, and you want to pray or whatever, read the scripture. Thats why I got the tattoo on the side. Its my favorite verse also. You know, when times get hard, I feel like, through the pain, after all the efforts I put forward, that verse protects me from anything evil.
I appreciate that he is able to bring evil into that one too.
Keyon Dooling
According to NBA.com, the cross tattoo on Dooling’s shoulder is to remind him that he’s blessed.
Kevin Garnett
Among KG’s tattoos is the text: “Only God can Judge me. Rest in Peace MS2” on his forearm. The text is a tribute combining the initials and jersey number of his Timberwolves teammate Malik Sealy who was killed by a drunk driver in 2000. Former teammate Joe Smith has the same tribute tattooed on his arm.
E’Twaun Moore
Rookie Moore has a cross tattoo on his left shoulder.
Jermaine O’Neal
O’Neal’s right shoulder features a muscular figure surrounded by the text “Year of the Resurrection.” Asked about the tattoo in 2011, O’Neal couldn’t remember when or where he got it, stressing instead that the tattoo isn’t fixed to one year, but constantly refreshes: “It better be this year… I look at it like every year has been a resurrection year — being challenged, being knocked down and getting back up – but I’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations this year.”
Aleksander Pavlovic
Pavlovic has a bit of text tattooed on his arm and a tiger on his ankle.
Paul Pierce
In September 2000, just before Pierce’s third year as a pro, he was stabbed 11 times at a nightclub in Boston. Several years later, he had a basketball with a dagger through it tattooed on his arm. As described by Pierce to the website Vegas Deluxe, “It represents how close I came to losing my life. Basketball is my gift and my curse. Obviously there are all the good things that come from playing basketball, but you also have to deal with all the negative things that come with being a basketball player.”
Mickael Pietrus
Pietrus has a tribal-inspired armband circling his right bicep.
Rajon Rondo
Rondo has the double-R Rolls Royce logo tattooed on his back, which also references his initials.
Players without tattoos:
Ray Allen
Avery Bradley
Ryan Hollins
JaJuan Johnson
Greg Stiemsma
No longer on roster:
Chris Wilcox: Wilcox has a tattoo on his left shoulder.
Detroit Pistons, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Pistons are currently one of the most tattooed teams in the league. While tattoos in the NBA seemed to reach their peak in the mid-2000s, in the years following Iverson’s dominance, it’s Detroit’s oldest players—Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Tracy McGrady—who have the most tattoos on the team, and the players in their mid-20s, who got their start during AI’s era, that avoided them.
—
Players with tattoos:
Will Bynum
Bynum demonstrated considerable confidence in himself by getting the NBA logo tattooed on his arm in high school.
Ben Gordon
Gordon’s left arm manages to combine two of the most popular themes for NBA tattoos—basketball and religious iconography—into one design where an angel bequeaths a ball to a prostrate figure.
Richard Hamilton
Rip Hamilton has a few tattoos, including a tribute to his grandfather and a lion. He described one of his favorites for the NBA mailbag: “I have R.I.P. coming out the ground on a tombstone that means basketball for life, basketball till I die. Yeah.”
Jason Maxiell
Has a tattoo on his left shoulder.
Tracy McGrady
McGrady, who has suffered a lot of criticism from announcers and analysts, has a response on his right shoulder, just below a speeding basketball and his nickname. Against a curled scroll, a poignant bit of scripture: “AND EVERY TONGUE THAT SHALL RISE UP AGAINST THEE IN JUDGEMENT SHALL BE COMDEMNED—ISAIAH 54:17.”
Rodney Stuckey
Stuckey’s right shoulder features an elaborate design with what appears to be a skyline, a river, and a prince holding a basketball.
DaJuan Summers
Summers has both arms well covered, but it’s his first tattoo, acquired in high school, that he looks to for comfort: “‘It has my name on it,’ says his mother, Twana, a supermarket meat cutter who raised her three kids alone in Baltimore after her husband died when DaJuan was just 3. ‘And it has the names of [his sister] Regina and [brother] Malik. He says when things get tight, he grabs that tattoo.’”
Ben Wallace
While the literal embrace of his nickname, Big Ben, is his most distinct tattoo, Wallace’s “No Pain No Game” design has a direct message that speaks to his physical game.
Terrico White
Bucking the trend of young players not getting tattoos because it might mess up sponsorship deals, White entered the league at 20 years old with almost-full sleeves, including a lengthy text passage on his right wrist.
Chris Wilcox
Wilcox has a sunburst on his right shoulder, and a portrait of Christ on his left.
Players without tattoos:
Austin Daye
Jonas Jerebko
Greg Monroe
Tayshaun Prince
Charlie Villaneuva
Boston Celtics, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Celtics kept their tattoo percentage even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Brandon Bass
Among Bass’s many tattoos is the phrase “God, Grind, Greatness” on the inside of his left bicep. In a profile by Ben Watanabe, Bass explained that the phrase originated during his high school days:
“During the week, I would work out, and on the weekend I would go play in tournaments. So I was praying, working on my game and then when we were in tournaments, I was getting ranked higher. To me, it equaled success, me praying and working hard, so that’s how I came up with ‘God, Grind, Greatness.’”
Jordan Crawford
Crawford has the words “Fab Five” tattooed on his back of his arms.
Kevin Garnett
As reported by Red’s Army, Garnett got a new tattoo in August of 2012. The design was done at FY Ink, who shared a handful of photos of the work in progress.
Courtney Lee
Lee credits his entire professional career to the guidance and mentoring of Danny Rumph, a promising point guard who died of a heart condition at the age of 21. The two met at Western Kentucky University, where Rumph’s positive influence kept Lee in school and focused on basketball. Following Rumph’s death, Lee designed a tribute to his friend, tattooed on his right arm. As described by Fran Blinebury for NBA.com:
“The tattoo on his right biceps is a drawing of his friend wearing his Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap on his head, with wings sprouting from his shoulders and holding a basketball with the No. 11 inside. A couple of other Western Kentucky teammates, Anthony Winchester and Elgrace Wilborn, have the same tattoo that Lee had sketched out.”
Fab Melo
Melo has a tattoo on his right shoulder.
Paul Pierce
In September 2000, just before Pierce’s third year as a pro, he was stabbed 11 times at a nightclub in Boston. Several years later, he had a basketball with a dagger through it tattooed on his arm. As described by Pierce to the website Vegas Deluxe, “It represents how close I came to losing my life. Basketball is my gift and my curse. Obviously there are all the good things that come from playing basketball, but you also have to deal with all the negative things that come with being a basketball player.”
Rajon Rondo
Rondo has the double-R Rolls Royce logo tattooed on his back, which also references his initials.
Jason Terry
Terry has a tattoo of Underdog, which he explained in a 2008 Dime Magazine interview: “I never was seen as one of the best players on the court ’til senior year of high school. Even at Arizona, I was not a starter ’til senior year.”
Chris Wilcox
Wilcox has tattoos on both arms.
Terrence Williams
Williams is one of several heavily-tattooed players from Seattle. A 2009 New York Times profile touched upon this phenomenon, noting that Williams and Nate Robinson grew up together “in the Seattle development referred to as “8 Block,” a reference to the government-assisted housing known as Section 8.” Two of the most heavily-inked players in the league, Williams and Robinson have a matching tattoo of the number 8 inside a spiderweb to commemorate their shared adolescence.
Players without tattoos:
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Shavlik Randolph
Jared Sullinger
D.J. White
Boston Celtics 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos/5 without)
The Celtics tattoo percentage remained the same as last year.
—
Players with tattoos:
Brandon Bass
Heavily tattooed on both arms.
Marquis Daniels
In 2009, Urban Ink magazine interviewed Daniels about his tattoos. He talks about the shotgun suicide one, and the one that reads “look through the eyes of a killer” but also talks about the one he got for his grandparents:
When I was younger, I used to have to read the Bible to my grandmother and grandfather all the time, and that was their favorite scripture. It was like, always remember the scripture. If youre down, and you want to pray or whatever, read the scripture. Thats why I got the tattoo on the side. Its my favorite verse also. You know, when times get hard, I feel like, through the pain, after all the efforts I put forward, that verse protects me from anything evil.
I appreciate that he is able to bring evil into that one too.
Keyon Dooling
According to NBA.com, the cross tattoo on Dooling’s shoulder is to remind him that he’s blessed.
Kevin Garnett
Among KG’s tattoos is the text: “Only God can Judge me. Rest in Peace MS2” on his forearm. The text is a tribute combining the initials and jersey number of his Timberwolves teammate Malik Sealy who was killed by a drunk driver in 2000. Former teammate Joe Smith has the same tribute tattooed on his arm.
E’Twaun Moore
Rookie Moore has a cross tattoo on his left shoulder.
Jermaine O’Neal
O’Neal’s right shoulder features a muscular figure surrounded by the text “Year of the Resurrection.” Asked about the tattoo in 2011, O’Neal couldn’t remember when or where he got it, stressing instead that the tattoo isn’t fixed to one year, but constantly refreshes: “It better be this year… I look at it like every year has been a resurrection year — being challenged, being knocked down and getting back up – but I’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations this year.”
Aleksander Pavlovic
Pavlovic has a bit of text tattooed on his arm and a tiger on his ankle.
Paul Pierce
In September 2000, just before Pierce’s third year as a pro, he was stabbed 11 times at a nightclub in Boston. Several years later, he had a basketball with a dagger through it tattooed on his arm. As described by Pierce to the website Vegas Deluxe, “It represents how close I came to losing my life. Basketball is my gift and my curse. Obviously there are all the good things that come from playing basketball, but you also have to deal with all the negative things that come with being a basketball player.”
Mickael Pietrus
Pietrus has a tribal-inspired armband circling his right bicep.
Rajon Rondo
Rondo has the double-R Rolls Royce logo tattooed on his back, which also references his initials.
Players without tattoos:
Ray Allen
Avery Bradley
Ryan Hollins
JaJuan Johnson
Greg Stiemsma
No longer on roster:
Chris Wilcox: Wilcox has a tattoo on his left shoulder.
Detroit Pistons, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Pistons are currently one of the most tattooed teams in the league. While tattoos in the NBA seemed to reach their peak in the mid-2000s, in the years following Iverson’s dominance, it’s Detroit’s oldest players—Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Tracy McGrady—who have the most tattoos on the team, and the players in their mid-20s, who got their start during AI’s era, that avoided them.
—
Players with tattoos:
Will Bynum
Bynum demonstrated considerable confidence in himself by getting the NBA logo tattooed on his arm in high school.
Ben Gordon
Gordon’s left arm manages to combine two of the most popular themes for NBA tattoos—basketball and religious iconography—into one design where an angel bequeaths a ball to a prostrate figure.
Richard Hamilton
Rip Hamilton has a few tattoos, including a tribute to his grandfather and a lion. He described one of his favorites for the NBA mailbag: “I have R.I.P. coming out the ground on a tombstone that means basketball for life, basketball till I die. Yeah.”
Jason Maxiell
Has a tattoo on his left shoulder.
Tracy McGrady
McGrady, who has suffered a lot of criticism from announcers and analysts, has a response on his right shoulder, just below a speeding basketball and his nickname. Against a curled scroll, a poignant bit of scripture: “AND EVERY TONGUE THAT SHALL RISE UP AGAINST THEE IN JUDGEMENT SHALL BE COMDEMNED—ISAIAH 54:17.”
Rodney Stuckey
Stuckey’s right shoulder features an elaborate design with what appears to be a skyline, a river, and a prince holding a basketball.
DaJuan Summers
Summers has both arms well covered, but it’s his first tattoo, acquired in high school, that he looks to for comfort: “‘It has my name on it,’ says his mother, Twana, a supermarket meat cutter who raised her three kids alone in Baltimore after her husband died when DaJuan was just 3. ‘And it has the names of [his sister] Regina and [brother] Malik. He says when things get tight, he grabs that tattoo.’”
Ben Wallace
While the literal embrace of his nickname, Big Ben, is his most distinct tattoo, Wallace’s “No Pain No Game” design has a direct message that speaks to his physical game.
Terrico White
Bucking the trend of young players not getting tattoos because it might mess up sponsorship deals, White entered the league at 20 years old with almost-full sleeves, including a lengthy text passage on his right wrist.
Chris Wilcox
Wilcox has a sunburst on his right shoulder, and a portrait of Christ on his left.
Players without tattoos:
Austin Daye
Jonas Jerebko
Greg Monroe
Tayshaun Prince
Charlie Villaneuva
