Oklahoma City Thunder, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 53% (8 players with tattoos, 7 without)
The Thunder kept their tattoo percentage even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Ronnie Brewer
Brewer may lead the league in basketball tattoos, with a ball tattooed on each shoulder and a hoop tattooed on his forearm.
Kevin Durant
During the summer of 2011, Durant had a huge tribute to his home state and his deceased coach tattooed on his back. The design has been referred to as a “business tattoo” since the entire design is hidden by his uniform. An interview with the tattoo artist, Randy Harris, revealed that Durant insisted that the tattoo be hidden in this way: “He went out of his way to tell me to not have the tattoos go out of his jersey because he does look at himself as a role model to kids.”
Derek Fisher
Fisher has a couple of Chinese characters tattooed on his right forearm that translate to “to be faithful in heart, mind, and spirit.”
Perry Jones III
Jones has a tattoo on his left arm of his mother’s name and the text “My Blessing From God.”
Jeremy Lamb
Lamb has “about eight tattoos” which were done by Massachusetts-based artist Ryan Jones.
DeAndre Liggins
Among Liggins’s many tattoos is a portrait of his older brother, Maurice Davis, who was shot and killed at the age of 18.
Kendrick Perkins
Perkins wore #43 on his jersey as a high school student and for his seven and a half seasons with the Celtics. At some point during that time, he had the number 43 tattooed on his shoulder. When he was traded to OKC he switched to #5 as 43 had been retired by the Sonics for Jack Sikma.
Thabo Sefolosha
Sefolosha’s two tattoos read “The Game Chose Me” and “God Guides My Steps.” In an NBA.com profile, he explained the designs: “Those are two things that are very important in my life: basketball and God.”
Players without tattoos:
Nick Collison
Serge Ibaka
Reggie Jackson
Kevin Martin
Daniel Orton
Hasheem Thabeet
Russell Westbrook
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
Oklahoma City Thunder, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 53% (8 players with tattoos, 7 without)
The Thunder kept their tattoo percentage even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Ronnie Brewer
Brewer may lead the league in basketball tattoos, with a ball tattooed on each shoulder and a hoop tattooed on his forearm.
Kevin Durant
During the summer of 2011, Durant had a huge tribute to his home state and his deceased coach tattooed on his back. The design has been referred to as a “business tattoo” since the entire design is hidden by his uniform. An interview with the tattoo artist, Randy Harris, revealed that Durant insisted that the tattoo be hidden in this way: “He went out of his way to tell me to not have the tattoos go out of his jersey because he does look at himself as a role model to kids.”
Derek Fisher
Fisher has a couple of Chinese characters tattooed on his right forearm that translate to “to be faithful in heart, mind, and spirit.”
Perry Jones III
Jones has a tattoo on his left arm of his mother’s name and the text “My Blessing From God.”
Jeremy Lamb
Lamb has “about eight tattoos” which were done by Massachusetts-based artist Ryan Jones.
DeAndre Liggins
Among Liggins’s many tattoos is a portrait of his older brother, Maurice Davis, who was shot and killed at the age of 18.
Kendrick Perkins
Perkins wore #43 on his jersey as a high school student and for his seven and a half seasons with the Celtics. At some point during that time, he had the number 43 tattooed on his shoulder. When he was traded to OKC he switched to #5 as 43 had been retired by the Sonics for Jack Sikma.
Thabo Sefolosha
Sefolosha’s two tattoos read “The Game Chose Me” and “God Guides My Steps.” In an NBA.com profile, he explained the designs: “Those are two things that are very important in my life: basketball and God.”
Players without tattoos:
Nick Collison
Serge Ibaka
Reggie Jackson
Kevin Martin
Daniel Orton
Hasheem Thabeet
Russell Westbrook
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
