Milwaukee Bucks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 53% (8 players with tattoos, 7 without)
Players with tattoos:
Marquis Daniels
In 2009, Urban Ink magazine published a great interview with Daniels that includes details and explanations of many of his tattoos.
Monta Ellis
Grantland recently published an excellent profile of Ellis by Jonathan Abrams. He includes a great quote from Ellis that really explains why he’s such a treat to watch: “I always approach the game like I approached it when I was a little boy, it’s just basketball.” The set up for this quote is a description of young Monta watching weekend matinee NBA games and then going outside to mimic what he saw. As Abrams describes it: “It always seemed like the games between the Magic and Bulls, Kings and Lakers, Knicks and Heat came down to the last second. After the games ended, Monta would go outside to mimic the last-second shots on his makeshift court, a garbage can on one end and a milk crate on the other.” Ellis paid tribute to these days on his elaborate back tattoo, which includes an image of a boy beside a milkcrate basket.
Drew Gooden
A 2007 Akron Beacon-Journal article focuses on Gooden’s then-recent tattoo, his first new work since he was 15 years old. The article reports that the tattoo is Dali-like, featuring a melting clock, set to 11:11 for good luck. At opposite sides of the clock a pair of angels and a devil observe time, completing this fittingly outlandish design for Gooden.
John Henson
Henson has the words “Truly Blessed” tattooed on his chest.
Brandon Jennings
Jennings is one of the more heavily tattooed players in the league. In 2011, Jennings told the website Global Grind that he was close to finished with tattoos, as he was running out of space.
Joel Przybilla
Among his several tattoos are a basketball player on his right bicep accompanied by the text “Not in my house” and his wife’s name in a heart with roses.
J.J. Redick
Via his twitter account, Redick posted a photo of his forearm tattoo, which quotes a Kings of Leon song. At the beginning of the 2012-13 season, he explained to Brooke Thomas of Yardbarker the significance of the quote, which reads: “Single book of matches, gonna burn what’s standing in the way.” As paraphrased by Thomas, “the lyrics mean that he’s given a finite amount of time and resources to do the things he is passionate about. Whatever obstacles and challenges that arise, he has to figure out a way to burn them down.”
Larry Sanders
Sanders is one of the more heavily tattooed players in the league. When asked about his tattoos, he consistently responds that he sees tattoos as artwork, and that creative expression is the only thing a person can really own.
Players without tattoos:
Gustavo Ayon
Samuel Dalembert
Mike Dunleavy
Ersan Ilyasova
Luc Mbah a Moute
Ish Smith
Ekpe Udoh
Milwaukee Bucks, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos; 8 without)
The Bucks were one of the most heavily tattooed teams last year, but with the loss of John Salmons, Corey Maggette, and, most notably, Chris Douglas-Roberts, their numbers have fallen this year, even with the addition of Monta Ellis.
Players with tattoos:
Jon Brockman
Brockman and his two siblings all have a tattoo of the Tree of Life. According to their father, “it’s not a real popular topic in our household.” According to Brockman, “it’s something close to me and it reminds me of my brother and sister when I don’t get to see them for a long time. So I like it.”
Kwame Brown
Has a tattoo below his right elbow.
Carlos Delfino
There’s something about the stylized, bold lines of Delfino’s dragon tattoo that makes me think it’s a logo or from a flag or something, but I’ve never found any corollary. Someone did get a copy of it in 2009….
Monta Ellis
One of the most heavily tattooed players in the league, Ellis got his start the summer following his rookie year, according to a 2010 USA Today profile: “It started four years ago, when Ellis, 25, who admits to being bored and a homebody, was back home in Jackson, Miss., and Memphis. He got 14 tattoos during an offseason.” According to an interview with Randy Wittman of Tattoos by Randy, whose done most of Ellis’s tattoos, including his well loved chest and back pieces, Ellis can sit for 8-10 hour sessions, which kind of breaks my mind.
Drew Gooden
Gooden has historically put a lot of effort into unconventional looks, such as this haircut or this beard. A 2007 Akron Beacon-Journal article focuses on Gooden’s then-recent tattoo, his first new work since he was 15 years old. The article reports that the tattoo is Dali-like, featuring a melting clock, set to 11:11 for good luck. At opposite sides of the clock a pair of angels and a devil observe time, completing this fittingly outlandish design for Gooden. Still, not really beats actually seeing it.
Brandon Jennings
L.A. native Jennings was two years old when N.W.A.’s Efil4zaggin came out, but the record clearly had an impact on Jennings, as evidenced by the “Always Into Somethin’” tattoo on his calf. A couple years ago Jennings posted a photo of the album on tape, but it’s not really worth digging through his twitter pics to find it. Sorry.
Larry Sanders
Last fall Sanders was featured on the internet TV show “Marked Up” where he discussed his path to becoming one of the NBA’s most heavily tattooed players. Interestingly, he gives partial credit to a college professor, who he described as “sleeved up.”
Players without tattoos:
Mike Dunleavy
Tobias Harris
Ersan Ilyasova
Jon Leuer
Shaun Livingston
Luc Mbah a Moute
Ekpe Udoh
Bene Udrih
Players no longer on roster:
Darington Hobson: no tattoos
Indiana Pacers 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 without)
The Pacers recent play underscores the fallacy of the tattoos=thug equation, as neither Josh McRoberts nor Jeff Foster have tattoos.
—
Players with tattoos:
Paul George
George has tattoos along his right arm from his shoulder to his wrist.
Solomon Jones
Jones has tattoos on both arms.
Dahntay Jones
Among his many tattoos, Jones has the words “Never Satisfied” although in this picture you can only see the word “Satisfied” which would be a cool tattoo for a different person I guess.
James Posey
On Posey’s left shoulder is a tattoo of the letter P, a basketball going through a hoop, and the letter Z. If the basketball is viewed as the letter O, the tattoo phonetically spells out his name: P-O-Z.
Brandon Rush
Rush has a collection of tattoos along both arms.
Lance Stephenson
At the age of 16, Stephenson was given the nickname “Born Ready” by Bobbito Garcia. Bobbito founded the greatest independent rap label of the 90s, Fondle Em, and introduced me to maybe half of my favorite songs via his radio show with Stretch Armstrong, so I’m always ready to take his word for whatever. Apparently Stephenson feels the same way, as the had the nickname tattooed on his right shoulder alongside a figure with a basketball and an outline of Coney Island’s skyline (where he grew up).
Players without tattoos:
Darren Collison
Mike Dunleavy
T.J. Ford
Jeff Foster
Danny Granger
Tyler Hansbrough
Roy Hibbert
Josh McRoberts
A.J. Price
Milwaukee Bucks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 53% (8 players with tattoos, 7 without)
Players with tattoos:
Marquis Daniels
In 2009, Urban Ink magazine published a great interview with Daniels that includes details and explanations of many of his tattoos.
Monta Ellis
Grantland recently published an excellent profile of Ellis by Jonathan Abrams. He includes a great quote from Ellis that really explains why he’s such a treat to watch: “I always approach the game like I approached it when I was a little boy, it’s just basketball.” The set up for this quote is a description of young Monta watching weekend matinee NBA games and then going outside to mimic what he saw. As Abrams describes it: “It always seemed like the games between the Magic and Bulls, Kings and Lakers, Knicks and Heat came down to the last second. After the games ended, Monta would go outside to mimic the last-second shots on his makeshift court, a garbage can on one end and a milk crate on the other.” Ellis paid tribute to these days on his elaborate back tattoo, which includes an image of a boy beside a milkcrate basket.
Drew Gooden
A 2007 Akron Beacon-Journal article focuses on Gooden’s then-recent tattoo, his first new work since he was 15 years old. The article reports that the tattoo is Dali-like, featuring a melting clock, set to 11:11 for good luck. At opposite sides of the clock a pair of angels and a devil observe time, completing this fittingly outlandish design for Gooden.
John Henson
Henson has the words “Truly Blessed” tattooed on his chest.
Brandon Jennings
Jennings is one of the more heavily tattooed players in the league. In 2011, Jennings told the website Global Grind that he was close to finished with tattoos, as he was running out of space.
Joel Przybilla
Among his several tattoos are a basketball player on his right bicep accompanied by the text “Not in my house” and his wife’s name in a heart with roses.
J.J. Redick
Via his twitter account, Redick posted a photo of his forearm tattoo, which quotes a Kings of Leon song. At the beginning of the 2012-13 season, he explained to Brooke Thomas of Yardbarker the significance of the quote, which reads: “Single book of matches, gonna burn what’s standing in the way.” As paraphrased by Thomas, “the lyrics mean that he’s given a finite amount of time and resources to do the things he is passionate about. Whatever obstacles and challenges that arise, he has to figure out a way to burn them down.”
Larry Sanders
Sanders is one of the more heavily tattooed players in the league. When asked about his tattoos, he consistently responds that he sees tattoos as artwork, and that creative expression is the only thing a person can really own.
Players without tattoos:
Gustavo Ayon
Samuel Dalembert
Mike Dunleavy
Ersan Ilyasova
Luc Mbah a Moute
Ish Smith
Ekpe Udoh
Milwaukee Bucks, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos; 8 without)
The Bucks were one of the most heavily tattooed teams last year, but with the loss of John Salmons, Corey Maggette, and, most notably, Chris Douglas-Roberts, their numbers have fallen this year, even with the addition of Monta Ellis.
Players with tattoos:
Jon Brockman
Brockman and his two siblings all have a tattoo of the Tree of Life. According to their father, “it’s not a real popular topic in our household.” According to Brockman, “it’s something close to me and it reminds me of my brother and sister when I don’t get to see them for a long time. So I like it.”
Kwame Brown
Has a tattoo below his right elbow.
Carlos Delfino
There’s something about the stylized, bold lines of Delfino’s dragon tattoo that makes me think it’s a logo or from a flag or something, but I’ve never found any corollary. Someone did get a copy of it in 2009….
Monta Ellis
One of the most heavily tattooed players in the league, Ellis got his start the summer following his rookie year, according to a 2010 USA Today profile: “It started four years ago, when Ellis, 25, who admits to being bored and a homebody, was back home in Jackson, Miss., and Memphis. He got 14 tattoos during an offseason.” According to an interview with Randy Wittman of Tattoos by Randy, whose done most of Ellis’s tattoos, including his well loved chest and back pieces, Ellis can sit for 8-10 hour sessions, which kind of breaks my mind.
Drew Gooden
Gooden has historically put a lot of effort into unconventional looks, such as this haircut or this beard. A 2007 Akron Beacon-Journal article focuses on Gooden’s then-recent tattoo, his first new work since he was 15 years old. The article reports that the tattoo is Dali-like, featuring a melting clock, set to 11:11 for good luck. At opposite sides of the clock a pair of angels and a devil observe time, completing this fittingly outlandish design for Gooden. Still, not really beats actually seeing it.
Brandon Jennings
L.A. native Jennings was two years old when N.W.A.’s Efil4zaggin came out, but the record clearly had an impact on Jennings, as evidenced by the “Always Into Somethin’” tattoo on his calf. A couple years ago Jennings posted a photo of the album on tape, but it’s not really worth digging through his twitter pics to find it. Sorry.
Larry Sanders
Last fall Sanders was featured on the internet TV show “Marked Up” where he discussed his path to becoming one of the NBA’s most heavily tattooed players. Interestingly, he gives partial credit to a college professor, who he described as “sleeved up.”
Players without tattoos:
Mike Dunleavy
Tobias Harris
Ersan Ilyasova
Jon Leuer
Shaun Livingston
Luc Mbah a Moute
Ekpe Udoh
Bene Udrih
Players no longer on roster:
Darington Hobson: no tattoos
Indiana Pacers 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 40% (6 players with tattoos, 9 without)
The Pacers recent play underscores the fallacy of the tattoos=thug equation, as neither Josh McRoberts nor Jeff Foster have tattoos.
—
Players with tattoos:
Paul George
George has tattoos along his right arm from his shoulder to his wrist.
Solomon Jones
Jones has tattoos on both arms.
Dahntay Jones
Among his many tattoos, Jones has the words “Never Satisfied” although in this picture you can only see the word “Satisfied” which would be a cool tattoo for a different person I guess.
James Posey
On Posey’s left shoulder is a tattoo of the letter P, a basketball going through a hoop, and the letter Z. If the basketball is viewed as the letter O, the tattoo phonetically spells out his name: P-O-Z.
Brandon Rush
Rush has a collection of tattoos along both arms.
Lance Stephenson
At the age of 16, Stephenson was given the nickname “Born Ready” by Bobbito Garcia. Bobbito founded the greatest independent rap label of the 90s, Fondle Em, and introduced me to maybe half of my favorite songs via his radio show with Stretch Armstrong, so I’m always ready to take his word for whatever. Apparently Stephenson feels the same way, as the had the nickname tattooed on his right shoulder alongside a figure with a basketball and an outline of Coney Island’s skyline (where he grew up).
Players without tattoos:
Darren Collison
Mike Dunleavy
T.J. Ford
Jeff Foster
Danny Granger
Tyler Hansbrough
Roy Hibbert
Josh McRoberts
A.J. Price
