Dallas Mavericks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 without)
The tattoo percentage for Dallas remained even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Jae Crowder
Crowder has tattoos on both arms.
Mike James
Mike James attended Amityville High School in Long Island, alma mater to Wizards guard AJ Price and to rap group De La Soul. James has an Amityville tattoo on his right shoulder.
Bernard James
Bernard James has tattoos on both arms.
Shawn Marion
Among Marion’s several tattoos is a hoop and flaming basketball surrounded by the text “Mr. Marion” and “Matrix.”
O.J. Mayo
Mayo has his name lettered on his back, in almost precisely the same place as the name on his jersey.
Anthony Morrow
Dime Magazine had a great profile of Morrow earlier this year with detailed photos and quotes about his work. Morrow used the article to remind readers that you shouldn’t judge people based on their tattoos: “But like I always say, it’s not a measure of your mind or your heart… It’s really about what you want, what you really love or care about and you express it through body art.”
Players without tattoos:
Josh Akognon
Rodrigue Beaubois
Elton Brand
Vince Carter
Darren Collison
Jared Cunningham
Chris Kaman
Dirk Nowitzki
Brandan Wright
No longer on roster:
Dominique Jones: yes
Delonte West: yes
Dallas Mavericks, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 players without)
The Mavs tattoo percentage dropped a little from last year, which seems inevitable considering they lost both DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler in the offseason. Still the only team with two Larry O’Brien tattoos, and probably will stay that way, regardless of future championships.
Players with tattoos:
Dominique Jones
While still a junior in college, Jones was included in an article about tattoos on the USF basketball team. The piece reports that he had more than 20 tattoos at that time, listing several of them, including two Michael Jordan quotes tattooed on his stomach: “The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.” And, “Basketball is my escape, my refuge. It seems that everything else is so … so busy and complicated.”
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 has a noble creature tattooed on his right shoulder that he described as a bull, to represent his Taurean nature: “I’m a Taurus at heart baby!” he declares, in a 2010 Ro Parrish video interview.
Lamar Odom
When it comes to tattoos, Odom keeps it simple: “My tattoos are just reminders of people who are close to me.”
Jason Terry
At the beginning of the 2010-11 season, Terry got the Larry O’Brien trophy tattooed on his right bicep to inspire himself and his teammates. At the end of that season, the Mavs won their first championship.
Delonte West
Among his many tattoos (including a Christian religious narrative that starts on his neck and runs down his chest) is script along his ribs reads: “For those I love I sacrifice.” In an interview he elaborated, “I definitely sacrificed getting them on these ribs, I’ll tell you that.”
Players without tattoos:
Kelenna Azubuike
Rodrique Beaubois
Brian Cardinal
Vince Carter
Brendan Haywood
Yi Jianlian
Ian Mahinmi
Dirk Nowitzki
Brandan Wright
No longer on roster:
Sean Williams: no tattoos
Boston Celtics 2010-11
Tattoo percentage:66% (10 players with tattoos/5 without)
Despite some trade-deadline maneuvers that sent away heavily tattooed Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for un-tattooed Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, the Celtics remain above the league average for tattooed players.
—
Players with tattoos:
Carlos Arroyo
Arroyo’s sole tattoo is his daughter’s name on his left forearm.
Glen Davis
In the beginning of 2010 Davis announced that he would abandon his “Big Baby” nickname, however he continues to keep his mother close to his heart with her portrait and the text “mama’s boy” tattooed on his chest.
Kevin Garnett
Among KG’s few tattoos is the following text on his forearm: “Only God can Judge me. Rest in Peace MS2.” 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 (and current Laker) Joe Smith has the same tribute on his arm.
Jermaine O’Neal
Heavily tattooed. His “Year of the Resurrection” text, added in 1999 on his right shoulder, is a nice commemoration of Christian mythos and Y2K anxiety.
Shaquille O’Neal
In typical Shaq humor, O’Neal claimed in a 2009 article, “I have all these tattoos because my parents let me get them. I have to fax the designs to them beforehand.”
Aleksandar Pavlovic
One of the rare tattooed Euro players in the league, Pavlovic has text on his forearm and a tiger on his ankle.
Paul Pierce
In 2010 he got his nickname, “The Truth” tattooed on his forearm, garnished with a couple of clever references to the game: a clover for the Celtics and a pair of dice reading 3 and 4 (his jersey number is 34).
Rajon Rondo
Although it can’t be seen on the court, Rondo has the Rolls Royce logo inked on his back, a gentle reference to his initials.
Von Wafer
Has a few tattoos, including a cobweb on his elbow, representing his struggle.
Delonte West
Among his many tattoos (including a Christian religious narrative that starts on his neck and runs down his chest) is script along his ribs reads: “For those I love I sacrifice.” In an interview he elaborated, “I definitely sacrificed getting them on these ribs, I’ll tell you that.”
Players without tattoos:
Ray Allen
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Nenad Krstic
Troy Murphy
Dallas Mavericks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 without)
The tattoo percentage for Dallas remained even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Jae Crowder
Crowder has tattoos on both arms.
Mike James
Mike James attended Amityville High School in Long Island, alma mater to Wizards guard AJ Price and to rap group De La Soul. James has an Amityville tattoo on his right shoulder.
Bernard James
Bernard James has tattoos on both arms.
Shawn Marion
Among Marion’s several tattoos is a hoop and flaming basketball surrounded by the text “Mr. Marion” and “Matrix.”
O.J. Mayo
Mayo has his name lettered on his back, in almost precisely the same place as the name on his jersey.
Anthony Morrow
Dime Magazine had a great profile of Morrow earlier this year with detailed photos and quotes about his work. Morrow used the article to remind readers that you shouldn’t judge people based on their tattoos: “But like I always say, it’s not a measure of your mind or your heart… It’s really about what you want, what you really love or care about and you express it through body art.”
Players without tattoos:
Josh Akognon
Rodrigue Beaubois
Elton Brand
Vince Carter
Darren Collison
Jared Cunningham
Chris Kaman
Dirk Nowitzki
Brandan Wright
No longer on roster:
Dominique Jones: yes
Delonte West: yes
Dallas Mavericks, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 players without)
The Mavs tattoo percentage dropped a little from last year, which seems inevitable considering they lost both DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler in the offseason. Still the only team with two Larry O’Brien tattoos, and probably will stay that way, regardless of future championships.
Players with tattoos:
Dominique Jones
While still a junior in college, Jones was included in an article about tattoos on the USF basketball team. The piece reports that he had more than 20 tattoos at that time, listing several of them, including two Michael Jordan quotes tattooed on his stomach: “The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.” And, “Basketball is my escape, my refuge. It seems that everything else is so … so busy and complicated.”
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 has a noble creature tattooed on his right shoulder that he described as a bull, to represent his Taurean nature: “I’m a Taurus at heart baby!” he declares, in a 2010 Ro Parrish video interview.
Lamar Odom
When it comes to tattoos, Odom keeps it simple: “My tattoos are just reminders of people who are close to me.”
Jason Terry
At the beginning of the 2010-11 season, Terry got the Larry O’Brien trophy tattooed on his right bicep to inspire himself and his teammates. At the end of that season, the Mavs won their first championship.
Delonte West
Among his many tattoos (including a Christian religious narrative that starts on his neck and runs down his chest) is script along his ribs reads: “For those I love I sacrifice.” In an interview he elaborated, “I definitely sacrificed getting them on these ribs, I’ll tell you that.”
Players without tattoos:
Kelenna Azubuike
Rodrique Beaubois
Brian Cardinal
Vince Carter
Brendan Haywood
Yi Jianlian
Ian Mahinmi
Dirk Nowitzki
Brandan Wright
No longer on roster:
Sean Williams: no tattoos
Boston Celtics 2010-11
Tattoo percentage:66% (10 players with tattoos/5 without)
Despite some trade-deadline maneuvers that sent away heavily tattooed Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for un-tattooed Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, the Celtics remain above the league average for tattooed players.
—
Players with tattoos:
Carlos Arroyo
Arroyo’s sole tattoo is his daughter’s name on his left forearm.
Glen Davis
In the beginning of 2010 Davis announced that he would abandon his “Big Baby” nickname, however he continues to keep his mother close to his heart with her portrait and the text “mama’s boy” tattooed on his chest.
Kevin Garnett
Among KG’s few tattoos is the following text on his forearm: “Only God can Judge me. Rest in Peace MS2.” 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 (and current Laker) Joe Smith has the same tribute on his arm.
Jermaine O’Neal
Heavily tattooed. His “Year of the Resurrection” text, added in 1999 on his right shoulder, is a nice commemoration of Christian mythos and Y2K anxiety.
Shaquille O’Neal
In typical Shaq humor, O’Neal claimed in a 2009 article, “I have all these tattoos because my parents let me get them. I have to fax the designs to them beforehand.”
Aleksandar Pavlovic
One of the rare tattooed Euro players in the league, Pavlovic has text on his forearm and a tiger on his ankle.
Paul Pierce
In 2010 he got his nickname, “The Truth” tattooed on his forearm, garnished with a couple of clever references to the game: a clover for the Celtics and a pair of dice reading 3 and 4 (his jersey number is 34).
Rajon Rondo
Although it can’t be seen on the court, Rondo has the Rolls Royce logo inked on his back, a gentle reference to his initials.
Von Wafer
Has a few tattoos, including a cobweb on his elbow, representing his struggle.
Delonte West
Among his many tattoos (including a Christian religious narrative that starts on his neck and runs down his chest) is script along his ribs reads: “For those I love I sacrifice.” In an interview he elaborated, “I definitely sacrificed getting them on these ribs, I’ll tell you that.”
Players without tattoos:
Ray Allen
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Nenad Krstic
Troy Murphy
