Los Angeles Lakers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Lakers increased their tattoo percentage from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Steve Blake
On the Lakers blog, while playing the game Would You Rather, Blake revealed that, “I do have one tattoo, but it’s not visible to the public eye.”
Kobe Bryant
Bryant has a few tattoos on his right arm, including his wife’s name, his daughters’ names, a crown, and wings.
Earl Clark
In January of 2013, ESPNLA.com Lakers beat writer Dave McMenamin revealed via twitter that Earl Clark has two player uniforms tattooed on his chest: “Iverson’s No. 3 (he was a fan growing up in NJ) and friend Kevin Widemond’s No. 12.”
Chris Duhon
Duhon has the words “My Word My Bond” tattooed on the inside of his right bicep, and “My Boys My Blood” tattooed on the inside of his left bicep.
Devin Ebanks
Ebanks’ high school coach used to say “Make shots, not excuses,” a phrase that resonated deeply enough that two players on the team wanted to make it permanent. “He was going to get the tattoo, but I stole it,” Ebanks said in a Times West Virginian article, referring to a teammate who intended to have the phrase tattooed on his arm. “I got it before he did.”
Andrew Goudelock
Goudelock has tattoos on both shoulders.
Jordan Hill
Among Hill’s many tattoos is the text “Mo Money” on his hands.
Antawn Jamison
Tattooed on Jamison’s left shoulder is a scene where an angel stands beneath a cross, a tribute to his grandmother who died when he was in high school. “Ever since she passed, she’s been my angel,” Jamison explained in a 2008 Washington Post article. “As a kid, I thought she was the only person that actually believed I could be an NBA player.”
Robert Sacre
Among Sacre’s many tattoos are portraits of DMX and Snoop Dogg on his torso.
Metta World Peace
World Peace has the name “Quanisha” tattooed on his bicep, a tribute to his sister who died as an infant.
Players without tattoos:
Pau Gasol
Dwight Howard
Jodie Meeks
Darius Morris
Steve Nash
Los Angeles Lakers, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 57% (8 players with tattoos, 6 players without)
The Lakers were one of the two most tattooed teams in the league last year, but with all of their personnel changes this year they’ve ended up at the league average.
Players with tattoos:
Matt Barnes
In September 2011, Barnes added a pair of eyes above the “La Famiglia” tattoo on his back, sharing an image on twitter with the explanation, “Gotta watch my back for the snakes & fakes out here.”
Steve Blake
On the Lakers blog, while playing the game Would You Rather, Blake revealed that, “I do have one tattoo, but it’s not visible to the public eye.”
Kobe Bryant
Bryant has a few tattoos on his right arm, including his (ex-) wife’s name, his daughters’ names, a crown, and wings.
Devin Ebanks
Ebanks’ high school coach used to say “Make shots, not excuses,” a phrase that resonated deeply enough that two players on the team wanted to make it permanent. “He was going to get the tattoo, but I stole it,” Ebanks said in a Times West Virginian article, referring to a teammate who intended to have the phrase tattooed on his arm. “I got it before he did.”
Christian Eyenga
Eyenga arrived at media day for the 2011-12 season with a tattoo visible beneath his uniform that spanned from shoulder to shoulder.
Andrew Goudelock
Goudelock has tattoos on both shoulders.
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.’
Metta World Peace
World Peace has the name “Quanisha” tattooed on his bicep, a tribute to his sister who died as an infant.
Players without tattoos:
Andrew Bynum
Pau Gasol
Josh McRoberts
Darius Morris
Troy Murphy
Ramon Sessions
No longer on roster:
Derrick Caracter: Caracter has tattoos on both arms and his chest
Jason Kapono: 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
Los Angeles Lakers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Lakers increased their tattoo percentage from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Steve Blake
On the Lakers blog, while playing the game Would You Rather, Blake revealed that, “I do have one tattoo, but it’s not visible to the public eye.”
Kobe Bryant
Bryant has a few tattoos on his right arm, including his wife’s name, his daughters’ names, a crown, and wings.
Earl Clark
In January of 2013, ESPNLA.com Lakers beat writer Dave McMenamin revealed via twitter that Earl Clark has two player uniforms tattooed on his chest: “Iverson’s No. 3 (he was a fan growing up in NJ) and friend Kevin Widemond’s No. 12.”
Chris Duhon
Duhon has the words “My Word My Bond” tattooed on the inside of his right bicep, and “My Boys My Blood” tattooed on the inside of his left bicep.
Devin Ebanks
Ebanks’ high school coach used to say “Make shots, not excuses,” a phrase that resonated deeply enough that two players on the team wanted to make it permanent. “He was going to get the tattoo, but I stole it,” Ebanks said in a Times West Virginian article, referring to a teammate who intended to have the phrase tattooed on his arm. “I got it before he did.”
Andrew Goudelock
Goudelock has tattoos on both shoulders.
Jordan Hill
Among Hill’s many tattoos is the text “Mo Money” on his hands.
Antawn Jamison
Tattooed on Jamison’s left shoulder is a scene where an angel stands beneath a cross, a tribute to his grandmother who died when he was in high school. “Ever since she passed, she’s been my angel,” Jamison explained in a 2008 Washington Post article. “As a kid, I thought she was the only person that actually believed I could be an NBA player.”
Robert Sacre
Among Sacre’s many tattoos are portraits of DMX and Snoop Dogg on his torso.
Metta World Peace
World Peace has the name “Quanisha” tattooed on his bicep, a tribute to his sister who died as an infant.
Players without tattoos:
Pau Gasol
Dwight Howard
Jodie Meeks
Darius Morris
Steve Nash
Los Angeles Lakers, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 57% (8 players with tattoos, 6 players without)
The Lakers were one of the two most tattooed teams in the league last year, but with all of their personnel changes this year they’ve ended up at the league average.
Players with tattoos:
Matt Barnes
In September 2011, Barnes added a pair of eyes above the “La Famiglia” tattoo on his back, sharing an image on twitter with the explanation, “Gotta watch my back for the snakes & fakes out here.”
Steve Blake
On the Lakers blog, while playing the game Would You Rather, Blake revealed that, “I do have one tattoo, but it’s not visible to the public eye.”
Kobe Bryant
Bryant has a few tattoos on his right arm, including his (ex-) wife’s name, his daughters’ names, a crown, and wings.
Devin Ebanks
Ebanks’ high school coach used to say “Make shots, not excuses,” a phrase that resonated deeply enough that two players on the team wanted to make it permanent. “He was going to get the tattoo, but I stole it,” Ebanks said in a Times West Virginian article, referring to a teammate who intended to have the phrase tattooed on his arm. “I got it before he did.”
Christian Eyenga
Eyenga arrived at media day for the 2011-12 season with a tattoo visible beneath his uniform that spanned from shoulder to shoulder.
Andrew Goudelock
Goudelock has tattoos on both shoulders.
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.’
Metta World Peace
World Peace has the name “Quanisha” tattooed on his bicep, a tribute to his sister who died as an infant.
Players without tattoos:
Andrew Bynum
Pau Gasol
Josh McRoberts
Darius Morris
Troy Murphy
Ramon Sessions
No longer on roster:
Derrick Caracter: Caracter has tattoos on both arms and his chest
Jason Kapono: 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
