Memphis Grizzlies, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 71% (10 players with tattoos, 4 without)
Players with tattoos:
Gilbert Arenas
The Washington Post website has a great video of Arenas talking through his tattoos. When they come to the tiger that covers most of his stomach, the interviewer asks “why the tiger?” to which Arenas replies: “That’s what I am a fierce beast, king of the jungle.” The reporter replies that many people believe that the lion is king of the jungle, but in Agent Zero’s usual enigmatic way, he replies simply, and definitively: “Tiger’s king of the jungle.”
Darrell Arthur
Arthur has a great tattoo on his back.
Mike Conley
Conley has tattoos on both arms.
Dante Cunningham
As of his senior year of college (2009), Cunningham has nine tattoos, including one that reads “TROUBLE” on his left arm.
Rudy Gay
In February of 2011, Gay separated his shoulder in a season-ending injury that required seven months of rehab. The down time sent Gay into new territory, as reported by the website Go Grizzlies on the one-year anniversary of his injury: “I tried not to get depressed but it happened,” Gay said. “I was doing stuff I normally wouldn’t do and I’ve got tattoos to show for it.”
Hamed Haddadi
The NBA’s first Iranian player has a stylized dragon tattooed on his left shoulder.
O.J. Mayo
While still in high school, Mayo had his childhood nickname, “Juice Monster,” and his hoped-for nickname, “King Kong,” (“I’d like that to be my motto; I’m King Kong of the court,” he said in 2007) tattooed on his arms.
Zach Randolph
Randolph has tattoos on both arms.
Josh Selby
Selby is one of four Kansas Jayhawks with a “FOE” tattoo, which stands for “Family Over Everything.” The other three are Thomas Robinson and the Morris twins. Selby was the originator, however, having added the design while in eighth grade. Selby is rumored to have a tattoo that reads “Only God Can Guard Me” which flips the common NBA tattoo Only God Can Judge Me sported by Kevin Garnett, Mike Bibby, and Derrick Rose among others. Sadly, there’s no confirmation or photographic proof of the design.
Marreese Speights
Speights has several tattoos on his arms, including his mother’s name on his forearm.
Players without tattoos:
Tony Allen
Marc Gasol
Jeremy Pargo: Pargo doesn’t have any tattoos, but Wale has him almost convinced to start
Quincy Pondexter
No longer on roster:
Josh Davis: no tattoos
Brian Skinner: tattoos on both arms
Orlando Magic, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 62% (8 players with tattoos, 5 without)
Animals make great tattoos—lions, tigers, bulls—all serious symbols, clear in their meanings. An even quicker path to pure signification is text, spelling out declarations, promises, and reminders. Players on the Magic tend towards one or the other, the same way they either shoot threes or put the ball inside for Dwight Howard. The fact that either strategy works for them is not too different from the fact that, regardless of their prevalence, animal tattoos and text tattoos tell a story really well.
—
Players with tattoos:
Malik Allen
Allen has a tattoo of a bull on his shoulder blade.
Gilbert Arenas
The Washington Post website has a great video of Arenas talking through his tattoos. When they come to the tiger that covers most of his stomach, the interviewer asks “why the tiger?” to which Arenas replies: “That’s what I am a fierce beast, king of the jungle.” The reporter replies that many people believe that the lion is king of the jungle, but in Agent Zero’s usual enigmatic way, he replies simply, and definitively: “Tiger’s king of the jungle.”
Brandon Bass
Bass has tattoos on both arms, reaching from his shoulders to his forearms.
Earl Clark
While still in college, Clark was the feature of a profile on the IMG Basketball Academy website that discussed the tattoo on his hand: “Me and my best friend from Jersey came up with BFAM (point to a tattoo on his hand). It means Brother From Another Mother. I heard about some NBA players with BFAM, and I’ve seen some people with it on their hat, but we were talking about this since we were young. All of my friends from the neighborhood who grew up together, we’ve all got the tattoo. We’re like brothers, and it’s just a sign of loyalty.”
Jameer Nelson
Nelson has a lot to say about fear in his tattoos, addressing it in three different text designs as he listed in an NBA chat transcript: “I have one that says ‘King of My Kingdom’, one that says ‘Fear No Man’, I have one that says ‘Loyalty’, another that says, ‘Accomplish Everything Without Fear’, another says ‘No Fear’ and another that is in honor of my Grandmother. That’s about it.”
J.J. Redick
Reddick has several tattoos, all of which address his religion, sections of scripture on his torso and the word “faith” on his wrist. He discussed his thoughts about his own tattoos, and those of other players in the league, on his website in 2008: “Each one of my five tattoos represent something unique and special to me. Yes, I could have probably gotten rubber bands made with the word “faith” on them instead of having “faith” tattooed on the inside of my wrist. But the tattoo is permanent, just like my faith in Christ. It serves as a reminder everyday to believe in the power and the love of God. People that have tattoos are not part of some weird subculture nor are NBA players “thugs” because they have permanent ink on their bodies. I’ve seen plenty of tattooed NBA players who donate money and time to charity, or go to church every Sunday, or visit sick kids in the hospital. That being said, my new tattoo is a latin phrase that runs all the way down my ribcage. I’m sure y’all can figure it out.”
Quentin Richardson
A 2010 report by the Orlando Sentinel got deep into the tragedy in Richardson’s life, his mother’s death from breast cancer and the shooting deaths of two of his three brothers (one of whom is memorialized in tattoo on Richardson’s forearm). The accompanying photo slideshow illustrates his “life’s storyboard [as] seen through his tattoos.” I love that he’s smiling and laughing in every picture, contradicting the heartbreak of the text.
Jason Richardson
A 2010 profile in the Phoenix New Times reported that Richardson has 26 tattoos, including his nickname (THA FACTOR), a grim reaper, the names of his family members, and a figure holding a basketball. According to an earlier Phoenix New Times article, none of these designs were chosen lightly, as explained by Richardson: “I don’t get tattooed unless I’m 100 percent sure.”
Players without tattoos:
Ryan Anderson
Chris Duhon
Dwight Howard
Daniel Orton
Hedo Turkoglu
Memphis Grizzlies, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 71% (10 players with tattoos, 4 without)
Players with tattoos:
Gilbert Arenas
The Washington Post website has a great video of Arenas talking through his tattoos. When they come to the tiger that covers most of his stomach, the interviewer asks “why the tiger?” to which Arenas replies: “That’s what I am a fierce beast, king of the jungle.” The reporter replies that many people believe that the lion is king of the jungle, but in Agent Zero’s usual enigmatic way, he replies simply, and definitively: “Tiger’s king of the jungle.”
Darrell Arthur
Arthur has a great tattoo on his back.
Mike Conley
Conley has tattoos on both arms.
Dante Cunningham
As of his senior year of college (2009), Cunningham has nine tattoos, including one that reads “TROUBLE” on his left arm.
Rudy Gay
In February of 2011, Gay separated his shoulder in a season-ending injury that required seven months of rehab. The down time sent Gay into new territory, as reported by the website Go Grizzlies on the one-year anniversary of his injury: “I tried not to get depressed but it happened,” Gay said. “I was doing stuff I normally wouldn’t do and I’ve got tattoos to show for it.”
Hamed Haddadi
The NBA’s first Iranian player has a stylized dragon tattooed on his left shoulder.
O.J. Mayo
While still in high school, Mayo had his childhood nickname, “Juice Monster,” and his hoped-for nickname, “King Kong,” (“I’d like that to be my motto; I’m King Kong of the court,” he said in 2007) tattooed on his arms.
Zach Randolph
Randolph has tattoos on both arms.
Josh Selby
Selby is one of four Kansas Jayhawks with a “FOE” tattoo, which stands for “Family Over Everything.” The other three are Thomas Robinson and the Morris twins. Selby was the originator, however, having added the design while in eighth grade. Selby is rumored to have a tattoo that reads “Only God Can Guard Me” which flips the common NBA tattoo Only God Can Judge Me sported by Kevin Garnett, Mike Bibby, and Derrick Rose among others. Sadly, there’s no confirmation or photographic proof of the design.
Marreese Speights
Speights has several tattoos on his arms, including his mother’s name on his forearm.
Players without tattoos:
Tony Allen
Marc Gasol
Jeremy Pargo: Pargo doesn’t have any tattoos, but Wale has him almost convinced to start
Quincy Pondexter
No longer on roster:
Josh Davis: no tattoos
Brian Skinner: tattoos on both arms
Orlando Magic, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 62% (8 players with tattoos, 5 without)
Animals make great tattoos—lions, tigers, bulls—all serious symbols, clear in their meanings. An even quicker path to pure signification is text, spelling out declarations, promises, and reminders. Players on the Magic tend towards one or the other, the same way they either shoot threes or put the ball inside for Dwight Howard. The fact that either strategy works for them is not too different from the fact that, regardless of their prevalence, animal tattoos and text tattoos tell a story really well.
—
Players with tattoos:
Malik Allen
Allen has a tattoo of a bull on his shoulder blade.
Gilbert Arenas
The Washington Post website has a great video of Arenas talking through his tattoos. When they come to the tiger that covers most of his stomach, the interviewer asks “why the tiger?” to which Arenas replies: “That’s what I am a fierce beast, king of the jungle.” The reporter replies that many people believe that the lion is king of the jungle, but in Agent Zero’s usual enigmatic way, he replies simply, and definitively: “Tiger’s king of the jungle.”
Brandon Bass
Bass has tattoos on both arms, reaching from his shoulders to his forearms.
Earl Clark
While still in college, Clark was the feature of a profile on the IMG Basketball Academy website that discussed the tattoo on his hand: “Me and my best friend from Jersey came up with BFAM (point to a tattoo on his hand). It means Brother From Another Mother. I heard about some NBA players with BFAM, and I’ve seen some people with it on their hat, but we were talking about this since we were young. All of my friends from the neighborhood who grew up together, we’ve all got the tattoo. We’re like brothers, and it’s just a sign of loyalty.”
Jameer Nelson
Nelson has a lot to say about fear in his tattoos, addressing it in three different text designs as he listed in an NBA chat transcript: “I have one that says ‘King of My Kingdom’, one that says ‘Fear No Man’, I have one that says ‘Loyalty’, another that says, ‘Accomplish Everything Without Fear’, another says ‘No Fear’ and another that is in honor of my Grandmother. That’s about it.”
J.J. Redick
Reddick has several tattoos, all of which address his religion, sections of scripture on his torso and the word “faith” on his wrist. He discussed his thoughts about his own tattoos, and those of other players in the league, on his website in 2008: “Each one of my five tattoos represent something unique and special to me. Yes, I could have probably gotten rubber bands made with the word “faith” on them instead of having “faith” tattooed on the inside of my wrist. But the tattoo is permanent, just like my faith in Christ. It serves as a reminder everyday to believe in the power and the love of God. People that have tattoos are not part of some weird subculture nor are NBA players “thugs” because they have permanent ink on their bodies. I’ve seen plenty of tattooed NBA players who donate money and time to charity, or go to church every Sunday, or visit sick kids in the hospital. That being said, my new tattoo is a latin phrase that runs all the way down my ribcage. I’m sure y’all can figure it out.”
Quentin Richardson
A 2010 report by the Orlando Sentinel got deep into the tragedy in Richardson’s life, his mother’s death from breast cancer and the shooting deaths of two of his three brothers (one of whom is memorialized in tattoo on Richardson’s forearm). The accompanying photo slideshow illustrates his “life’s storyboard [as] seen through his tattoos.” I love that he’s smiling and laughing in every picture, contradicting the heartbreak of the text.
Jason Richardson
A 2010 profile in the Phoenix New Times reported that Richardson has 26 tattoos, including his nickname (THA FACTOR), a grim reaper, the names of his family members, and a figure holding a basketball. According to an earlier Phoenix New Times article, none of these designs were chosen lightly, as explained by Richardson: “I don’t get tattooed unless I’m 100 percent sure.”
Players without tattoos:
Ryan Anderson
Chris Duhon
Dwight Howard
Daniel Orton
Hedo Turkoglu
