Phoenix Suns, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
In the biggest single-year jump in the past three years, the Suns nearly doubled their tattoo percentage from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Michael Beasley
Among Beasley’s many tattoos is the word “H.O.O.D.” on his chest, an acronym for “Holding Our Own Destinies.”
Shannon Brown
In 2009, during Brown’s first season with the Lakers, Meghan Brennan asked the player about his tattoos for a Mouthpiecesports interview. Brown quickly ran down the tatooos on his right arm and hand, which include the word “Believe,” “Proverbs 3: 5-6” (although not the proverb text itself); his initials “SB,” and his mother’s name, “Sandra.”
Channing Frye
A 2013 profile in the Oregonian discusses the tattoo on Frye’s right forearm. It’s a pretty complicated narrative:
“His idyllic scene is etched on the inside of his right forearm, where his favorite tattoo depicts a mountain with several steps leading up to a rising sun. It is a place of esteem, for to reach the top, where the view is far-reaching and the sun rays stretch like exclamation points, one must overcome the steps of Doubt, Yourself, Fear, Hate, Lies and Envy, before reaching Happiness.”
Diante Garrett
While still at Iowa State, Garrett was interviewed about his tattoos by the Des Moines Register. He discusses all of his tattoos, including his parents’ names, the phrase “Carpe Diem,” and his first tattoo, a gift-wrapped basketball with the text “God’s Gift.”
Marcin Gortat
During his second season in the NBA, Gortat made it to the finals as a backup center for the Magic. On the magnified stage of the championship round, it came to the attention of his sponsor, Reebok, that Gortat had Nike’s Michael Jordan Jumpman logo tattooed on his ankle. They requested that he wear long socks to cover the rival logo, or efface it with makeup. Gortat refused: “I’ve heard from other people that even other players, if they don’t know my name, they know I’m the big white guy with the Jordan tattoo. I like that. Reebok will have to get used to that.” Gortat is no longer sponsored by Reebok.
Hamed Haddadi
The NBA’s first Iranian player has a stylized dragon tattooed on his left shoulder.
Marcus Morris
Morris and his twin brother, Markieff Morris, share identical tattoo designs, including one that reads “FOE” which stands for Family Over Everything; one that reads “Death is a Promise”; and one that reads “Twin Towers.”
Markieff Morris
[see above]
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.”
P.J. Tucker
Tucker has tattoos on both arms.
Players without tattoos:
Goran Dragic
Jared Dudley
Wes Johnson
Kendall Marshall
Luis Scola
Houston Rockets, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 without)
The Rockets raised their tattoo percentage just a touch from last year.
Marcus Camby
Canby has the Chinese characters for “strive” and “family” tattooed on his right shoulder. In an interview, Canby claimed to be one of the originators of Chinese character tattoos. When asked how he got on the path, he explained, “I was into a lot of Chinese flicks, a lot of kung fu movies.”
Courtney Fortson
Fortson has tattoos on his right arm.
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.”
Marcus Morris
Morris was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 14th pick in the 2011 NBA draft. His twin brother, Markieff Morris, was taken by Phoenix with the 13th pick. This is the first year these identical twins have played apart, after years together in youth leagues, high school, and three years with the Kansas Jayhawks. They even had the same major (American Studies) at college. The pair also share identical tattoo designs, including one that reads “FOE” which stands for Family Over Everything; one that reads “Death is a Promise”; and one that reads “Twin Towers.”
Patrick Patterson
During his years at UK, Patterson had a Martin Luther King Jr. quote tattooed on his chest: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
Malcolm Thomas
A U-T San Diego article written during Thomas’s years at San Diego State University discusses the player’s relationship with his daughter. One paragraph describes the tattoo he received several days before her birth: “Thomas had a tattoo added to his right arm, next to the one for his mother. It is a rose with “Mikeala” written beneath it.”
Players without tattoos:
Earl Boykins
Chase Budinger
Samuel Dalembert
Goran Dragic
Kyle Lowry
Kevin Martin: Martin is uninterested in tattoos, for several reasons: “I’m never going to get a tattoo. I don’t like needles, so I’m not going to let a needle on me. But I also want to be a clean-cut guy. That’s just how I am.”
Chandler Parsons
Luis Scola: Once said tattoos are not cute (“no quedan lindos”)
Greg Smith
No longer on roster:
Jeff Adrien: no tattoos
Houston Rockets 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 36% (5 players with tattoos, 9 without)
Obviously their major story this year has been Yao Ming’s absence, but slowly this story is transforming to the way this otherwise young team is coming together. More than half of the Houston Rockets are under 25, and while Luis Scola is still a major force, the players to watch are clearly the younger ones. Following the storyline of their tattoos, it’s obvious these guys have been through some trials, and rebuilding a post-Yao team seems like a walk through the park by comparison.
—
Players with tattoos:
Jordan Hill
While at college, the heavily tattooed Hill described his tattoos for the Arizona Daily Wildcat, including the tribute for his mother: “My mom passed when I was 3, so I got “in love and memory”, the year she was born and when she died, a basketball and a banner with her name in it, Carol. And on the bottom I got ‘Doing it for you.’”
Courtney Lee
A 2010 NBA.com article revisited the end of Lee’s freshman year of college, when his roommate and close friend Danny Rumph died from a heart attack. To commemorate their friendship, and pay tribute, Lee got a tattoo on his right arm.
Brad Miller
Miller has a tattoo of cartoon character Scrappy Doo.
Patrick Patterson
While still at Kentucky, Patterson had a Martin Luther King Jr. quote tattooed on his chest: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
Terrence Williams
Another of the heavily-tattooed players born and raised in Seattle, Williams has a tattoo of the number 8 resting in a spiderweb, a reference to the Section 8 housing that he and Nate Robinson and their other friends grew up in, a tattoo that many of them have.
Players without tattoos:
Marqus Blakely
Chase Budinger
Goran Dragic
Chuck Hayes
Kyle Lowry
Kevin Martin: Martin is uninterested in tattoos, for several reasons: “I’m never going to get a tattoo. I don’t like needles, so I’m not going to let a needle on me. But I also want to be a clean-cut guy. That’s just how I am.”
Luis Scola: Once said tattoos are not cute (“no quedan lindos”).
Hasheem Thabeet
Yao Ming
Phoenix Suns, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
In the biggest single-year jump in the past three years, the Suns nearly doubled their tattoo percentage from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Michael Beasley
Among Beasley’s many tattoos is the word “H.O.O.D.” on his chest, an acronym for “Holding Our Own Destinies.”
Shannon Brown
In 2009, during Brown’s first season with the Lakers, Meghan Brennan asked the player about his tattoos for a Mouthpiecesports interview. Brown quickly ran down the tatooos on his right arm and hand, which include the word “Believe,” “Proverbs 3: 5-6” (although not the proverb text itself); his initials “SB,” and his mother’s name, “Sandra.”
Channing Frye
A 2013 profile in the Oregonian discusses the tattoo on Frye’s right forearm. It’s a pretty complicated narrative:
“His idyllic scene is etched on the inside of his right forearm, where his favorite tattoo depicts a mountain with several steps leading up to a rising sun. It is a place of esteem, for to reach the top, where the view is far-reaching and the sun rays stretch like exclamation points, one must overcome the steps of Doubt, Yourself, Fear, Hate, Lies and Envy, before reaching Happiness.”
Diante Garrett
While still at Iowa State, Garrett was interviewed about his tattoos by the Des Moines Register. He discusses all of his tattoos, including his parents’ names, the phrase “Carpe Diem,” and his first tattoo, a gift-wrapped basketball with the text “God’s Gift.”
Marcin Gortat
During his second season in the NBA, Gortat made it to the finals as a backup center for the Magic. On the magnified stage of the championship round, it came to the attention of his sponsor, Reebok, that Gortat had Nike’s Michael Jordan Jumpman logo tattooed on his ankle. They requested that he wear long socks to cover the rival logo, or efface it with makeup. Gortat refused: “I’ve heard from other people that even other players, if they don’t know my name, they know I’m the big white guy with the Jordan tattoo. I like that. Reebok will have to get used to that.” Gortat is no longer sponsored by Reebok.
Hamed Haddadi
The NBA’s first Iranian player has a stylized dragon tattooed on his left shoulder.
Marcus Morris
Morris and his twin brother, Markieff Morris, share identical tattoo designs, including one that reads “FOE” which stands for Family Over Everything; one that reads “Death is a Promise”; and one that reads “Twin Towers.”
Markieff Morris
[see above]
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.”
P.J. Tucker
Tucker has tattoos on both arms.
Players without tattoos:
Goran Dragic
Jared Dudley
Wes Johnson
Kendall Marshall
Luis Scola
Houston Rockets, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 without)
The Rockets raised their tattoo percentage just a touch from last year.
Marcus Camby
Canby has the Chinese characters for “strive” and “family” tattooed on his right shoulder. In an interview, Canby claimed to be one of the originators of Chinese character tattoos. When asked how he got on the path, he explained, “I was into a lot of Chinese flicks, a lot of kung fu movies.”
Courtney Fortson
Fortson has tattoos on his right arm.
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.”
Marcus Morris
Morris was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 14th pick in the 2011 NBA draft. His twin brother, Markieff Morris, was taken by Phoenix with the 13th pick. This is the first year these identical twins have played apart, after years together in youth leagues, high school, and three years with the Kansas Jayhawks. They even had the same major (American Studies) at college. The pair also share identical tattoo designs, including one that reads “FOE” which stands for Family Over Everything; one that reads “Death is a Promise”; and one that reads “Twin Towers.”
Patrick Patterson
During his years at UK, Patterson had a Martin Luther King Jr. quote tattooed on his chest: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
Malcolm Thomas
A U-T San Diego article written during Thomas’s years at San Diego State University discusses the player’s relationship with his daughter. One paragraph describes the tattoo he received several days before her birth: “Thomas had a tattoo added to his right arm, next to the one for his mother. It is a rose with “Mikeala” written beneath it.”
Players without tattoos:
Earl Boykins
Chase Budinger
Samuel Dalembert
Goran Dragic
Kyle Lowry
Kevin Martin: Martin is uninterested in tattoos, for several reasons: “I’m never going to get a tattoo. I don’t like needles, so I’m not going to let a needle on me. But I also want to be a clean-cut guy. That’s just how I am.”
Chandler Parsons
Luis Scola: Once said tattoos are not cute (“no quedan lindos”)
Greg Smith
No longer on roster:
Jeff Adrien: no tattoos
Houston Rockets 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 36% (5 players with tattoos, 9 without)
Obviously their major story this year has been Yao Ming’s absence, but slowly this story is transforming to the way this otherwise young team is coming together. More than half of the Houston Rockets are under 25, and while Luis Scola is still a major force, the players to watch are clearly the younger ones. Following the storyline of their tattoos, it’s obvious these guys have been through some trials, and rebuilding a post-Yao team seems like a walk through the park by comparison.
—
Players with tattoos:
Jordan Hill
While at college, the heavily tattooed Hill described his tattoos for the Arizona Daily Wildcat, including the tribute for his mother: “My mom passed when I was 3, so I got “in love and memory”, the year she was born and when she died, a basketball and a banner with her name in it, Carol. And on the bottom I got ‘Doing it for you.’”
Courtney Lee
A 2010 NBA.com article revisited the end of Lee’s freshman year of college, when his roommate and close friend Danny Rumph died from a heart attack. To commemorate their friendship, and pay tribute, Lee got a tattoo on his right arm.
Brad Miller
Miller has a tattoo of cartoon character Scrappy Doo.
Patrick Patterson
While still at Kentucky, Patterson had a Martin Luther King Jr. quote tattooed on his chest: “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”
Terrence Williams
Another of the heavily-tattooed players born and raised in Seattle, Williams has a tattoo of the number 8 resting in a spiderweb, a reference to the Section 8 housing that he and Nate Robinson and their other friends grew up in, a tattoo that many of them have.
Players without tattoos:
Marqus Blakely
Chase Budinger
Goran Dragic
Chuck Hayes
Kyle Lowry
Kevin Martin: Martin is uninterested in tattoos, for several reasons: “I’m never going to get a tattoo. I don’t like needles, so I’m not going to let a needle on me. But I also want to be a clean-cut guy. That’s just how I am.”
Luis Scola: Once said tattoos are not cute (“no quedan lindos”).
Hasheem Thabeet
Yao Ming
