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
A look at the draft
Until the 2011-12 rosters are finalized, it’s difficult to say what teams increased their tattoo percentages last night. Probably none of them. Overall, there were not many tattooed players in the draft, with only 27% of the first round players having any. Notably, only three of the lottery picks have tattoos—#1 pick Kyrie Irving and the Morris twins, taken at #13 and #14. Over the past five years, at least 6 of the lottery picked players have had tattoos, with as many as 8 in 2006 and 2008. This may be a side effect of the international tone of this draft, or more evidence of young players avoiding tattoos for endorsements, and it probably doesn’t mean anything at all. In the meantime, here’s a look at the first round draft picks with tattoos:
#1: Kyrie Irving: Has several tattoos, including a tribute to his mother over his heart. I think he’s gotten a few more since this photo was taken.
#13 & #14: Markieff and Marcus Morris: A pair of identical twins that have identical tattoos (and a lot of them) is conceptually complete, there’s no room for additional commentary.
#15: Kawhi Leonard: Has a tribute to his father, who was killed in 2008, tattooed on his arm.
#17: Iman Schumpert: Can’t really get any details his work yet.
#20: Donatas Motiejunas: No photo of the tattoo, but this quote is even better:
Motiejunas drew the shirt back to reveal the tattoo that took three painful visits over a year to complete. The eagle, in flight, covered most of his left chest. It is clenching a basketball and fire streams off the back of the ball. It’s an actual statement of his appreciation of the bird and potential symbolism of his NBA future.
“I read a lot of books about eagles,” he said. “It sort of inspires me. I really like the attitudes of eagles. It’s really nice.”
The attitudes?
“They never give up. When they grab, for example, a fish or something else, they never let it go. It doesn’t matter. In a book, they write they find a skeleton of (an) eagle and there is no fish. It means that the fish beat him and killed him, but he didn’t let go.”
#21: Nolan Smith: Has a tattoo of his father’s face on his right arm.
#25: Marshon Brooks: Yes to a winged basketball
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
A look at the draft
Until the 2011-12 rosters are finalized, it’s difficult to say what teams increased their tattoo percentages last night. Probably none of them. Overall, there were not many tattooed players in the draft, with only 27% of the first round players having any. Notably, only three of the lottery picks have tattoos—#1 pick Kyrie Irving and the Morris twins, taken at #13 and #14. Over the past five years, at least 6 of the lottery picked players have had tattoos, with as many as 8 in 2006 and 2008. This may be a side effect of the international tone of this draft, or more evidence of young players avoiding tattoos for endorsements, and it probably doesn’t mean anything at all. In the meantime, here’s a look at the first round draft picks with tattoos:
#1: Kyrie Irving: Has several tattoos, including a tribute to his mother over his heart. I think he’s gotten a few more since this photo was taken.
#13 & #14: Markieff and Marcus Morris: A pair of identical twins that have identical tattoos (and a lot of them) is conceptually complete, there’s no room for additional commentary.
#15: Kawhi Leonard: Has a tribute to his father, who was killed in 2008, tattooed on his arm.
#17: Iman Schumpert: Can’t really get any details his work yet.
#20: Donatas Motiejunas: No photo of the tattoo, but this quote is even better:
Motiejunas drew the shirt back to reveal the tattoo that took three painful visits over a year to complete. The eagle, in flight, covered most of his left chest. It is clenching a basketball and fire streams off the back of the ball. It’s an actual statement of his appreciation of the bird and potential symbolism of his NBA future.
“I read a lot of books about eagles,” he said. “It sort of inspires me. I really like the attitudes of eagles. It’s really nice.”
The attitudes?
“They never give up. When they grab, for example, a fish or something else, they never let it go. It doesn’t matter. In a book, they write they find a skeleton of (an) eagle and there is no fish. It means that the fish beat him and killed him, but he didn’t let go.”
#21: Nolan Smith: Has a tattoo of his father’s face on his right arm.
#25: Marshon Brooks: Yes to a winged basketball
