Atlanta Hawks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 80% (12 players with tattoos, 3 without)
With the additions of Anthony Morrow, DeShawn Stevenson, and Lou Williams, the Hawks tattoo percentage jumped far ahead of last year.
Players with tattoos:
Devin Harris
Harris has an elaborate design tattooed on his left arm. In an interview with The Guardian, Harris explained a bit about the tattoo: “That’s kind of my conscience. It’s just there with me, all the time. I wouldn’t say I designed it but I had a hand in it, me and the tattoo artist himself.”
John Jenkins
Jenkins has a tattoo on his chest, although the design is unknown.
Ivan Johnson
Rembert Browne of Grantland did a great service by transcribing large portions of a 2008 public radio interview with fan favorite Ivan Johnson. In a particularly emotional segment, Johnson describes his mother’s death and his ongoing connection to her:
I talk to her every day. Little stupid stuff I see in the streets. I laugh with her, talk with her, a pillow that she had in the house that she used to sleep on, I keep that with me all the time. Wherever I go, I keep her obituary with me, just so I can see her face, so I won’t forget how she looked. Before she passed, I got her face tattooed on me, so I’ll never forget how she looked. And that means so much to me.
Dahntay Jones
Jones has a number of tattoos across his arms and chest.
Kyle Korver
In 2006, Korver told Sports Illustrated that he promised his mother he’s wait until her death before getting a tattoo. In 2009, as reported by Omaha.com, he and his brother Kaleb got tattoos of their favorite bible verses. Kaleb remarked that their mother was “good with it” and that they’re trying to convince their other two brothers to join in.
Shelvin Mack
It’s difficult to make out the design (I think it’s a “laugh now/cry later”), but Mack has a tattoo on his left arm.
Johan Petro
Petro has tattoos on both arms.
Mike Scott
Rookie Scott came into the league with 13 tattoos, as described in a ESPN profile:
Scott has 13 tattoos (and counting), including the initials of his two little brothers, Antonn and Derrick, tattooed onto his wrists; his mother’s initials are tattooed on one side of his neck and his father’s tattooed onto the other side.
Josh Smith
Among Smith’s many tattoos is a throwback Hawks logo (circa 1972-1995) on his left arm.
DeShawn Stevenson
In a 2010 video interview, after pointing out his most recent tattoos—his wife’s name above his eyebrow, her initials behind his left ear, and his jersey number on his neck—Stevenson states, “my mom, she said no more tattoos on my face, so I got to listen to her.”
Jeff Teague
As soon as the 2011-12 season ended, Teague added a full sleeve to his left arm.
Lou Williams
Williams has the word “MOTIVATION” tattooed across his back. He explained the design of the tattoo for Urban Ink Magazine:
I designed the tattoo myself when I was 17. The idea came to me to get motivation across my back, and I wanted to spell it out for all the people that motivated me. So, what I did was, I wrote down all the names of family members and friends and all of the people that helped me along the way, and I just made it all intertwine, and it came out perfect. It was incredible how the words went together and everything. I was really motivated by my family and my friends, and the people that supported me from day one.
Players without tattoos:
Al Horford
Zaza Pachulia
Anthony Tolliver
Gary Forbes rates tattoos pt. 2
New Jersey Nets 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 79% (11 players with tattoos, 3 without)
Jonathan Abrams posted an account on Grantland of a week spent with the Nets at the beginning of this season. It’s kind of a heartbreaker. A big part of it is the haphazard collection of players, which is reflected in the tattoos described below. Like last year, the panthers to Simpsons-reference array is difficult to harmonize, but maybe the prevalence of basketball tattoos on the team will be the common chord. At the very least, they have a lot more tattoos than last year.
—
Players with tattoos:
MarShon Brooks
The winged basketball on Brooks’ left shoulder is one of my favorite designs in the league.
Jordan Farmar
Insted were a late 80s posicore band from Anaheim who formed that same year that Farmar was born just 20 miles away in Los Angeles. Farmar has a tattoo that looks suspiciously like the cover of Insted’s first LP, Bonds of Friendship, but according to an interview with Farmar, has a totally different origin: “I got it after my freshman year of college. It’s a picture drawn by my first basketball coach, he’s an artist for the Simpsons.”
Gerald Green
Green has tattoos on both arms.
Damion James
James has both arms pretty done.
Anthony Morrow
In October of 2011 Morrow posted a photo of his back piece on twitter, continuing the family theme begun on his chest.
Johan Petro
Petro has tattoos on both arms.
DeShawn Stevenson
In a 2010 video interview, after pointing out his most recent tattoos—his wife’s name above his eyebrow, her initials behind his left ear, and his jersey number on his neck—Stevenson states, “my mom, she said no more tattoos on my face, so I got to listen to her.”
Gerald Wallace
I love Wallace’s tiger tattoo. It’s great that one of the most energetic and excitable players in the league has a super-calm, un-roaring, un-threatening tiger on his shoulder.
Deron Williams
Williams famously got one panther tattoo covered by a different panther tattoo. Among his many designs, including tributes to his family, to basketball, and to the state of Texas, Williams said, “It’s a way to express yourself. I probably won’t like them when I’m 90. But right now I do.”
Jordan Williams
Williams has a basketball tattooed on his right shoulder.
Shelden Williams
Williams is married to WNBA star Candace Parker. Parker has a key tattooed on her wrist, and Williams has a matching lock tattooed on his wrist.
Players without tattoos:
Sundiata Gaines
Kris Humphries
Brook Lopez
No longer on roster:
Dennis Horner: Horner has a tattoo of a flaming basketball and his jersey number. There is a facebook page dedicated to it.
DeShawn Stevenson, tattoo artist
TMZ has a report about DeShawn Stevenson giving his first tattoo this week at Fallen Sparrow Tattoo Co. in Kissimmee, Florida. He added 92—his jersey number—to the calf of one of the regular artists that works at the parlor:
Can’t believe I missed this. Tattoo Time with Mike Tyson is a segment on Jimmy Kimmel where Iron Mike runs down celebrity tattoos. In the clip above, he covers Kobe Bryant, DeShawn Stevenson, and Kenyon Martin. He’s got punchlines for Bryant and Martin, but the DeShawn Stevenson bit is just kind of weird and unfinished. There are two other clips available online—one covers LeBron James, Marquis Daniels, and Chris Andersen and the other covers Stephen Jackson and Robert Swift.
Shawn Marion’s Taurus
Last night Spencer Hawes posed the following question on twitter: “What type of creature is tatted on marions right shoulder?!?” Ro Parrish has the answer in this November, 2010 video:
Marion: “Taurus, Taurus on the bull. I’m a Taurus at heart baby!”
The video has some other gems, including DeShawn Stevenson pointing out his most recent tattoo—his wife’s name above his left eyebrow—and following it up by saying his mom demanded he stop getting tattoos on his face, and JET talking about his Larry O’Brien tattoo a full six months before anyone else mentioned it.
Jason Terry update
Citing his own superstitious nature, Jason Terry informed ESPN that if the Mavs don’t win the championship, he will have his Larry O’Brien trophy tattoo removed. The very best part of this article is the claim that DeShawn Stevenson “has hundreds of tattoos on his face, neck, torso and arms.” Hundreds!
Jason Terry’s tattoo of trophy…
Amazing news from ESPN today about JET’s show of confidence at the beginning of this season. First of all, it’s incredible that DeShawn Stevenson held a tattoo party at the beginning of the season as a team-building exercise. But even Stevenson was stunned by Terry’s decision to get the Larry O’Brien Trophy tattooed on his right bicep:
According to Terry, after the initial shock wore off, the tattoo became a major source of inspiration to the team:
“When they actually see me get it, they were like, ‘This boy is serious.’ And our whole talk and conversation was about right now, about us getting to this point and winning it all.”
Would love to see someone copycat this idea. J.R. Giddens?
R.I.D. Andrew Kuo
Dallas Mavericks 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 47% (seven players with tattoos, eight without)
Now that the playoffs have begun, the discussion of how and when the Mavs will choke has begun again, with old ghosts haunting from past seasons. I’m not a fan of the team by any means, but I get a shiver of sympathy when I hear people laugh at them. The triumph of the 2007 Warriors isn’t the only source of amusement at Dallas’s expense: Jason Terry, and especially DeShawn Stevenson have tattoos that seem hilarious to observers, particularly Stevenson. I’m pretty sure even people who don’t follow basketball have gaped at the photo above. But when Stevenson and Terry start talking about their tattoos the emotion thickens like cement, choking off the giggles. Which is, I guess, their hope for how the playoffs run.
—
Players with tattoos:
Caron Butler
While on the Wizards, Butler wrote on his blog about tattoos: “Like many other guys in the NBA, I’m big on tattoos too. I may not be a league leader there, though, because I have just four of them. The tat that means the most to me is the one on my left arm. It says “Rest in Peace, Kailo”. That’s my cousin who died in a car accident. She was like a sister to me. I grew up with her and although she’s no longer here, I keep her with me.”
Tyson Chandler
Chandler’s website has a short video where he talks through all of his tattoos, including two different portraits (of his uncle and his daughter), his mother’s name, his wife’s initials, and his first tattoo: “I have a basketball on fire, with my name under it. That was my first tattoo, I was a youngster.”
Dominique Jones
For his rookie year, Jones manifested his love for the league by tattooing the NBA logo on his calf.
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.”
Shawn Marion
Marion’s Chinese character tattoo on his calf was included in a New York Times article about poorly researched/translated tattoos: “Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns was under the impression that his nickname, ‘the Matrix,’ was tattooed on his leg, but Mr. Tang says the inscription translates as something like ‘demon bird moth balls.’”
DeShawn Stevenson
Tattoos play a vital role in Stevenson’s life. The Abraham Lincoln tattoo on his neck has inspired a lot of laughter but his teammates have nothing but respect. In the words of Caron Butler: “That’s crazy to a lot of people, but not to me. I respect him if he wants to do that. It’s a way for him to celebrate what Lincoln did with the slaves.” Stevenson also has a crack tattooed on his forehead, which he explained at a 2009 media day: “‘I don’t crack,’ he said. ‘I feel like people always try to break me, but I don’t crack. So, I put that there.’” Perhaps the most intense Stevenson tattoo isn’t on his body. His father, Darryl Stevenson, who had dreams of become a pro basketball player, was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic when DeShawn Stevenson was an infant. As a result of a series of violent crimes culminating in the murder of his mother, Darryl Stevenson spent most of his son’s life in prison, and died in Corcoran State Prison the year that DeShawn graduated high school. Tattooed on his chest was one word: “DeShawn.”
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.”
Players without tattoos:
J.J. Barea
Rodrique Beaubois
Corey Brewer
Brian Cardinal
Brendan Haywood
Ian Mahinmi
Dirk Nowitzki
Peja Stojakovic
Atlanta Hawks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 80% (12 players with tattoos, 3 without)
With the additions of Anthony Morrow, DeShawn Stevenson, and Lou Williams, the Hawks tattoo percentage jumped far ahead of last year.
Players with tattoos:
Devin Harris
Harris has an elaborate design tattooed on his left arm. In an interview with The Guardian, Harris explained a bit about the tattoo: “That’s kind of my conscience. It’s just there with me, all the time. I wouldn’t say I designed it but I had a hand in it, me and the tattoo artist himself.”
John Jenkins
Jenkins has a tattoo on his chest, although the design is unknown.
Ivan Johnson
Rembert Browne of Grantland did a great service by transcribing large portions of a 2008 public radio interview with fan favorite Ivan Johnson. In a particularly emotional segment, Johnson describes his mother’s death and his ongoing connection to her:
I talk to her every day. Little stupid stuff I see in the streets. I laugh with her, talk with her, a pillow that she had in the house that she used to sleep on, I keep that with me all the time. Wherever I go, I keep her obituary with me, just so I can see her face, so I won’t forget how she looked. Before she passed, I got her face tattooed on me, so I’ll never forget how she looked. And that means so much to me.
Dahntay Jones
Jones has a number of tattoos across his arms and chest.
Kyle Korver
In 2006, Korver told Sports Illustrated that he promised his mother he’s wait until her death before getting a tattoo. In 2009, as reported by Omaha.com, he and his brother Kaleb got tattoos of their favorite bible verses. Kaleb remarked that their mother was “good with it” and that they’re trying to convince their other two brothers to join in.
Shelvin Mack
It’s difficult to make out the design (I think it’s a “laugh now/cry later”), but Mack has a tattoo on his left arm.
Johan Petro
Petro has tattoos on both arms.
Mike Scott
Rookie Scott came into the league with 13 tattoos, as described in a ESPN profile:
Scott has 13 tattoos (and counting), including the initials of his two little brothers, Antonn and Derrick, tattooed onto his wrists; his mother’s initials are tattooed on one side of his neck and his father’s tattooed onto the other side.
Josh Smith
Among Smith’s many tattoos is a throwback Hawks logo (circa 1972-1995) on his left arm.
DeShawn Stevenson
In a 2010 video interview, after pointing out his most recent tattoos—his wife’s name above his eyebrow, her initials behind his left ear, and his jersey number on his neck—Stevenson states, “my mom, she said no more tattoos on my face, so I got to listen to her.”
Jeff Teague
As soon as the 2011-12 season ended, Teague added a full sleeve to his left arm.
Lou Williams
Williams has the word “MOTIVATION” tattooed across his back. He explained the design of the tattoo for Urban Ink Magazine:
I designed the tattoo myself when I was 17. The idea came to me to get motivation across my back, and I wanted to spell it out for all the people that motivated me. So, what I did was, I wrote down all the names of family members and friends and all of the people that helped me along the way, and I just made it all intertwine, and it came out perfect. It was incredible how the words went together and everything. I was really motivated by my family and my friends, and the people that supported me from day one.
Players without tattoos:
Al Horford
Zaza Pachulia
Anthony Tolliver
Gary Forbes rates tattoos pt. 2
New Jersey Nets 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 79% (11 players with tattoos, 3 without)
Jonathan Abrams posted an account on Grantland of a week spent with the Nets at the beginning of this season. It’s kind of a heartbreaker. A big part of it is the haphazard collection of players, which is reflected in the tattoos described below. Like last year, the panthers to Simpsons-reference array is difficult to harmonize, but maybe the prevalence of basketball tattoos on the team will be the common chord. At the very least, they have a lot more tattoos than last year.
—
Players with tattoos:
MarShon Brooks
The winged basketball on Brooks’ left shoulder is one of my favorite designs in the league.
Jordan Farmar
Insted were a late 80s posicore band from Anaheim who formed that same year that Farmar was born just 20 miles away in Los Angeles. Farmar has a tattoo that looks suspiciously like the cover of Insted’s first LP, Bonds of Friendship, but according to an interview with Farmar, has a totally different origin: “I got it after my freshman year of college. It’s a picture drawn by my first basketball coach, he’s an artist for the Simpsons.”
Gerald Green
Green has tattoos on both arms.
Damion James
James has both arms pretty done.
Anthony Morrow
In October of 2011 Morrow posted a photo of his back piece on twitter, continuing the family theme begun on his chest.
Johan Petro
Petro has tattoos on both arms.
DeShawn Stevenson
In a 2010 video interview, after pointing out his most recent tattoos—his wife’s name above his eyebrow, her initials behind his left ear, and his jersey number on his neck—Stevenson states, “my mom, she said no more tattoos on my face, so I got to listen to her.”
Gerald Wallace
I love Wallace’s tiger tattoo. It’s great that one of the most energetic and excitable players in the league has a super-calm, un-roaring, un-threatening tiger on his shoulder.
Deron Williams
Williams famously got one panther tattoo covered by a different panther tattoo. Among his many designs, including tributes to his family, to basketball, and to the state of Texas, Williams said, “It’s a way to express yourself. I probably won’t like them when I’m 90. But right now I do.”
Jordan Williams
Williams has a basketball tattooed on his right shoulder.
Shelden Williams
Williams is married to WNBA star Candace Parker. Parker has a key tattooed on her wrist, and Williams has a matching lock tattooed on his wrist.
Players without tattoos:
Sundiata Gaines
Kris Humphries
Brook Lopez
No longer on roster:
Dennis Horner: Horner has a tattoo of a flaming basketball and his jersey number. There is a facebook page dedicated to it.
DeShawn Stevenson, tattoo artist
TMZ has a report about DeShawn Stevenson giving his first tattoo this week at Fallen Sparrow Tattoo Co. in Kissimmee, Florida. He added 92—his jersey number—to the calf of one of the regular artists that works at the parlor:
Can’t believe I missed this. Tattoo Time with Mike Tyson is a segment on Jimmy Kimmel where Iron Mike runs down celebrity tattoos. In the clip above, he covers Kobe Bryant, DeShawn Stevenson, and Kenyon Martin. He’s got punchlines for Bryant and Martin, but the DeShawn Stevenson bit is just kind of weird and unfinished. There are two other clips available online—one covers LeBron James, Marquis Daniels, and Chris Andersen and the other covers Stephen Jackson and Robert Swift.
Shawn Marion’s Taurus
Last night Spencer Hawes posed the following question on twitter: “What type of creature is tatted on marions right shoulder?!?” Ro Parrish has the answer in this November, 2010 video:
Marion: “Taurus, Taurus on the bull. I’m a Taurus at heart baby!”
The video has some other gems, including DeShawn Stevenson pointing out his most recent tattoo—his wife’s name above his left eyebrow—and following it up by saying his mom demanded he stop getting tattoos on his face, and JET talking about his Larry O’Brien tattoo a full six months before anyone else mentioned it.
Jason Terry update
Citing his own superstitious nature, Jason Terry informed ESPN that if the Mavs don’t win the championship, he will have his Larry O’Brien trophy tattoo removed. The very best part of this article is the claim that DeShawn Stevenson “has hundreds of tattoos on his face, neck, torso and arms.” Hundreds!
Jason Terry’s tattoo of trophy…
Amazing news from ESPN today about JET’s show of confidence at the beginning of this season. First of all, it’s incredible that DeShawn Stevenson held a tattoo party at the beginning of the season as a team-building exercise. But even Stevenson was stunned by Terry’s decision to get the Larry O’Brien Trophy tattooed on his right bicep:
According to Terry, after the initial shock wore off, the tattoo became a major source of inspiration to the team:
“When they actually see me get it, they were like, ‘This boy is serious.’ And our whole talk and conversation was about right now, about us getting to this point and winning it all.”
Would love to see someone copycat this idea. J.R. Giddens?
R.I.D. Andrew Kuo
Dallas Mavericks 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 47% (seven players with tattoos, eight without)
Now that the playoffs have begun, the discussion of how and when the Mavs will choke has begun again, with old ghosts haunting from past seasons. I’m not a fan of the team by any means, but I get a shiver of sympathy when I hear people laugh at them. The triumph of the 2007 Warriors isn’t the only source of amusement at Dallas’s expense: Jason Terry, and especially DeShawn Stevenson have tattoos that seem hilarious to observers, particularly Stevenson. I’m pretty sure even people who don’t follow basketball have gaped at the photo above. But when Stevenson and Terry start talking about their tattoos the emotion thickens like cement, choking off the giggles. Which is, I guess, their hope for how the playoffs run.
—
Players with tattoos:
Caron Butler
While on the Wizards, Butler wrote on his blog about tattoos: “Like many other guys in the NBA, I’m big on tattoos too. I may not be a league leader there, though, because I have just four of them. The tat that means the most to me is the one on my left arm. It says “Rest in Peace, Kailo”. That’s my cousin who died in a car accident. She was like a sister to me. I grew up with her and although she’s no longer here, I keep her with me.”
Tyson Chandler
Chandler’s website has a short video where he talks through all of his tattoos, including two different portraits (of his uncle and his daughter), his mother’s name, his wife’s initials, and his first tattoo: “I have a basketball on fire, with my name under it. That was my first tattoo, I was a youngster.”
Dominique Jones
For his rookie year, Jones manifested his love for the league by tattooing the NBA logo on his calf.
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.”
Shawn Marion
Marion’s Chinese character tattoo on his calf was included in a New York Times article about poorly researched/translated tattoos: “Shawn Marion of the Phoenix Suns was under the impression that his nickname, ‘the Matrix,’ was tattooed on his leg, but Mr. Tang says the inscription translates as something like ‘demon bird moth balls.’”
DeShawn Stevenson
Tattoos play a vital role in Stevenson’s life. The Abraham Lincoln tattoo on his neck has inspired a lot of laughter but his teammates have nothing but respect. In the words of Caron Butler: “That’s crazy to a lot of people, but not to me. I respect him if he wants to do that. It’s a way for him to celebrate what Lincoln did with the slaves.” Stevenson also has a crack tattooed on his forehead, which he explained at a 2009 media day: “‘I don’t crack,’ he said. ‘I feel like people always try to break me, but I don’t crack. So, I put that there.’” Perhaps the most intense Stevenson tattoo isn’t on his body. His father, Darryl Stevenson, who had dreams of become a pro basketball player, was diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic when DeShawn Stevenson was an infant. As a result of a series of violent crimes culminating in the murder of his mother, Darryl Stevenson spent most of his son’s life in prison, and died in Corcoran State Prison the year that DeShawn graduated high school. Tattooed on his chest was one word: “DeShawn.”
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.”
Players without tattoos:
J.J. Barea
Rodrique Beaubois
Corey Brewer
Brian Cardinal
Brendan Haywood
Ian Mahinmi
Dirk Nowitzki
Peja Stojakovic
