Anonymous asked: Greg Smith (Houston) has a ton of tattoos on his left arm and a massive chest tattoo that says Family First
Yes he does! Thanks for letting me know, I’ve updated the Rockets page and the 2012-13 overall statistics.
Anonymous asked: search Charlie Villanueva's instagram. he got a new tattoo covering the remaining space on his right arm
Thanks! As noted above, Villanueva has a new tattoo, and posted images of the sketch, the work in progress, and the finished design on his instagram page:
Isaiah Thomas’s sleeve
Great detail of Isaiah Thomas’s Washington-repping sleeve as designed by Randy Harris of Tattoos by Randy.
John Jenkins/Tattoos by Randy
After seeing the new work by Randy Harris on Damien Wilkins this week, went back through the Tattoos by Randy instagram feed and found some great details of his work on NBA players. On the 2012-13 Atlanta Hawks page, I posted that John Jenkins’s design was unknown. So wrong! Here’s an image courtesy of Tattoos by Randy, who handled the design:
2012-13 NBA Tattoo statistics
Using team end-of-season/beginning-of-playoffs rosters as posted on April 20, 2013, there are 446 players in the NBA. 250 of these players have tattoos, 196 do not have tattoos. This means that (at least) 56% of the NBA is tattooed.
It’s possible that there are a few more tattooed players out there—I rarely have direct access to players and may have missed some players’ designs. However I can confirm that every player listed as having tattoos on this site has a tattoo, and I have provided links to evidence—either photographic, or a quote from an article or other source.
If you click on a team name on the right panel, it will take you to a page listing all of the players on their current roster and whether or not they have tattoos. If you click on an individual player’s name you can see every mention of that player on this blog.
2012-13 NBA teams listed by tattoo percentage from highest to lowest:
1. Atlanta Hawks, 80%
2. Brooklyn Nets, 73%
3. Denver Nuggets, 73%
4. Portland Trail Blazers, 73%
5. Boston Celtics, 67%
6. Los Angeles Clippers, 67%
7. Los Angeles Lakers, 67%
8. New York Knicks, 67%
9. Phoenix Suns, 67%
10. Utah Jazz, 67%
11. Chicago Bulls, 60%
12. Cleveland Cavaliers, 60%
13. Houston Rockets, 60%
14. Memphis Grizzlies, 60%
15. Miami Heat, 60%
16. Golden State Warriors, 53%
17. Milwaukee Bucks, 53%
18. Oklahoma City Thunder, 53%
19. Detroit Pistons, 50%
20. Charlotte Bobcats, 47%
21. Minnesota Timberwolves, 47%
22. Philadelphia Sixers, 47%
23. Toronto Raptors, 47%
24. Washington Wizards, 47%
25. Orlando Magic, 43%
26. Dallas Mavericks, 40%
27. Indiana Pacers, 40%
28. San Antonio Spurs, 40%
29. Sacramento Kings, 38%
30. New Orleans Hornets, 33%
Damien Wilkins/Tattoos by Randy
Damien Wilkins received a new tattoo from Randy Harris of Tattoos by Randy today. He posted the following photo of the tattoo in progress:
And then this photo of the finished design:
Charlotte Bobcats, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos, 8 without)
The Bobcats saw their tattoo percentage increase slightly from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Ben Gordon
Gordon entered the league with a tattoo of an angel giving a basketball to a kneeling figure.
Gerald Henderson
Henderson has a tattoo on his back that’s occasionally visible past the edge of his jersey. In August of 2012, he described the tattoo in response to a question posed on twitter: “grandparents in angel wings.”
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Kidd-Gilchrist, who came into the league with no visible tattoos, added a massive backpiece at the end of his rookie season.
Byron Mullins
Mullens used go to by BJ Mullens, and has B tattooed on his left forearm and J tattooed on his right forearm.
Jeff Taylor
Taylor has tattoos that peek out of the sides of his uniform.
Tyrus Thomas
Easily the most heavily tattooed players on the Bobcats, Thomas admits to disliking his first tattoo: “The name was just like the first one. I think a lot of people usually get their name as the first one. If I could do it over I wouldn’t. You know, I know my name.”
Reggie Williams
Williams has a portrait tattooed on his left shoulder and another design on his right forearm.
Players without tattoos:
Jeff Adrien
Bismack Biyombo
DeSagana Diop
Brendan Haywood
Josh McRoberts
Jannero Pargo
Ramon Sessions
Kemba Walker
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
Cleveland Cavaliers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
Cleveland’s tattoo percentage went up a touch from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Wayne Ellington
Ellington has a tattoo on the inside of his right arm.
Alonzo Gee
As a child, Gee was required by his mother to memorize bible verses. One from Isaiah 54:17 is tattooed on his right shoulder: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.”
Daniel Gibson
Gibson is one of the most heavily tattooed players on the Cavs. This year, he added a tattoo to his hand in tribute to his wife, Keyshia Cole.
Kyrie Irving
Irving has several tattoos, which he’s documented via his twitter account. In the beginning of 2010 he added a photo of the tribute to his mother, and towards the end of that year shared a photo of his “hungry & humble” tattoo.
C.J. Miles
Miles recently got a tattoo of the serenity prayer on his arm. The Deseret News reports that the tattoo has become a part of Miles’ pregame ritual:
That Serenity Prayer is so important to Miles, he rubs the tattoo as part of his pregame ritual. It’s his “mental reminder.”
“I’ve got it tatted on my arm for a reason,” he said. “All I can worry about is tonight, try to help my team win a game today. … If you miss shots, so be it. All you can control is the next one.”
Marreese Speights
Speights has several tattoos on his arms, including his mother’s name on his forearm.
Tristan Thompson
Thompson has a couple of tattoos, including the initials “G2S” meaning “Grind To Shine” and the text “I Am My Brother’s Keeper” on his chest. In a 2012 article about tattoos in the league, he shared his thoughts about basketball-related tattoos:
“I wanted to get something that was going to mean something so I won’t regret it when I’m 50,” Thompson said. “A lot of guys get tattoos because maybe they’re drunk one night or they think something is cool at the time. I’d never get a basketball tattoo because basketball only lasts so long. When you stop playing the game, it’s going to look (dumb).”
Dion Waiters
Waiters kept a rookie year diary for Dime Magazine this year. His March entry talks through all of his tattoos to date, and discusses his plans for future designs.
Luke Walton
Better just to leave it in Walton’s own words: “The first one I got here, I got in college, and I got the Grateful Dead skeletons but with basketballs instead of canes and hats.”
Players without tattoos:
Omri Cassia
Kevin Jones
Shaun Livingston
Chris Quinn
Anderson Varejao
Tyler Zeller
Los Angeles Clippers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Clippers had a decrease in tattoo percentage from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Matt Barnes
In 2008, Barnes founded the Athletes vs. Cancer foundation in memory of his mother, who passed away from lung cancer. In 2010, he added a portrait of his mother, framed by angel’s wings, to his many tattoos. As he explained to Tom Hoffarth of Inside So Cal, “this keeps her around.”
Chauncey Billups
On Billups’s left shoulder is a tattoo of a crowned figure spinning a basketball on his finger. Surrounding the figure are the words “King of the Hill,” a reference to the Denver neighborhood Billups grew up in. In an IGN Sports interview, Billups described it as his favorite tattoo, and explained the significance: “My neighborhood back home is called Park Hill. It’s a hood thing. All of my tats mean something.”
Eric Bledsoe
Bledsoe has tattoos along both arms.
Caron Butler
While on the Wizards, Butler wrote on his blog about tattoos: “Like many other guys in the NBA, I’m big on tattoos too. I may not be a league leader there, though, because I have just four of them. The tat that means the most to me is the one on my left arm. It says “Rest in Peace, Kailo”. That’s my cousin who died in a car accident. She was like a sister to me. I grew up with her and although she’s no longer here, I keep her with me.”
Jamal Crawford
Players from Seattle tend to have a lot of tattoos (Nate Robinson, Jason Terry, Terrence Williams) and Crawford is one of the heaviest. On his left shoulder is one of the dreamiest basketball-themed tattoos in the league: against a background of heavenly clouds, a hoop glows, with “Jamal” lettered across the backboard in Olde English.
DeAndre Jordan
Among Jordan’s many tattoos is a portrait of his grandfather on his stomach, added in 2012.
Lamar Odom
When it comes to tattoos, Odom keeps it simple: “My tattoos are just reminders of people who are close to me.”
DaJuan Summers
Summers has both arms well covered, but it’s his first tattoo, acquired in high school, that he looks to for comfort: “‘It has my name on it,’ says his mother, Twana, a supermarket meat cutter who raised her three kids alone in Baltimore after her husband died when DaJuan was just 3. ‘And it has the names of [his sister] Regina and [brother] Malik. He says when things get tight, he grabs that tattoo.’”
Ronny Turiaf
In March of 2011, Turiaf began work on a new tattoo on his left arm: a phoenix rising from ashes.
Maalik Wayns
Wayns has tattoos on both arms. In 2011, he posted to twitter: “God I hope I’m living right and sorry for the tattoos.”
Players without tattoos:
Willie Green
Blake Griffin
Grant Hill
Ryan Hollins
Chris Paul
Anonymous asked: Greg Smith (Houston) has a ton of tattoos on his left arm and a massive chest tattoo that says Family First
Yes he does! Thanks for letting me know, I’ve updated the Rockets page and the 2012-13 overall statistics.
Anonymous asked: search Charlie Villanueva's instagram. he got a new tattoo covering the remaining space on his right arm
Thanks! As noted above, Villanueva has a new tattoo, and posted images of the sketch, the work in progress, and the finished design on his instagram page:
Isaiah Thomas’s sleeve
Great detail of Isaiah Thomas’s Washington-repping sleeve as designed by Randy Harris of Tattoos by Randy.
John Jenkins/Tattoos by Randy
After seeing the new work by Randy Harris on Damien Wilkins this week, went back through the Tattoos by Randy instagram feed and found some great details of his work on NBA players. On the 2012-13 Atlanta Hawks page, I posted that John Jenkins’s design was unknown. So wrong! Here’s an image courtesy of Tattoos by Randy, who handled the design:
2012-13 NBA Tattoo statistics
Using team end-of-season/beginning-of-playoffs rosters as posted on April 20, 2013, there are 446 players in the NBA. 250 of these players have tattoos, 196 do not have tattoos. This means that (at least) 56% of the NBA is tattooed.
It’s possible that there are a few more tattooed players out there—I rarely have direct access to players and may have missed some players’ designs. However I can confirm that every player listed as having tattoos on this site has a tattoo, and I have provided links to evidence—either photographic, or a quote from an article or other source.
If you click on a team name on the right panel, it will take you to a page listing all of the players on their current roster and whether or not they have tattoos. If you click on an individual player’s name you can see every mention of that player on this blog.
2012-13 NBA teams listed by tattoo percentage from highest to lowest:
1. Atlanta Hawks, 80%
2. Brooklyn Nets, 73%
3. Denver Nuggets, 73%
4. Portland Trail Blazers, 73%
5. Boston Celtics, 67%
6. Los Angeles Clippers, 67%
7. Los Angeles Lakers, 67%
8. New York Knicks, 67%
9. Phoenix Suns, 67%
10. Utah Jazz, 67%
11. Chicago Bulls, 60%
12. Cleveland Cavaliers, 60%
13. Houston Rockets, 60%
14. Memphis Grizzlies, 60%
15. Miami Heat, 60%
16. Golden State Warriors, 53%
17. Milwaukee Bucks, 53%
18. Oklahoma City Thunder, 53%
19. Detroit Pistons, 50%
20. Charlotte Bobcats, 47%
21. Minnesota Timberwolves, 47%
22. Philadelphia Sixers, 47%
23. Toronto Raptors, 47%
24. Washington Wizards, 47%
25. Orlando Magic, 43%
26. Dallas Mavericks, 40%
27. Indiana Pacers, 40%
28. San Antonio Spurs, 40%
29. Sacramento Kings, 38%
30. New Orleans Hornets, 33%
Damien Wilkins/Tattoos by Randy
Damien Wilkins received a new tattoo from Randy Harris of Tattoos by Randy today. He posted the following photo of the tattoo in progress:
And then this photo of the finished design:
Charlotte Bobcats, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos, 8 without)
The Bobcats saw their tattoo percentage increase slightly from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Ben Gordon
Gordon entered the league with a tattoo of an angel giving a basketball to a kneeling figure.
Gerald Henderson
Henderson has a tattoo on his back that’s occasionally visible past the edge of his jersey. In August of 2012, he described the tattoo in response to a question posed on twitter: “grandparents in angel wings.”
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
Kidd-Gilchrist, who came into the league with no visible tattoos, added a massive backpiece at the end of his rookie season.
Byron Mullins
Mullens used go to by BJ Mullens, and has B tattooed on his left forearm and J tattooed on his right forearm.
Jeff Taylor
Taylor has tattoos that peek out of the sides of his uniform.
Tyrus Thomas
Easily the most heavily tattooed players on the Bobcats, Thomas admits to disliking his first tattoo: “The name was just like the first one. I think a lot of people usually get their name as the first one. If I could do it over I wouldn’t. You know, I know my name.”
Reggie Williams
Williams has a portrait tattooed on his left shoulder and another design on his right forearm.
Players without tattoos:
Jeff Adrien
Bismack Biyombo
DeSagana Diop
Brendan Haywood
Josh McRoberts
Jannero Pargo
Ramon Sessions
Kemba Walker
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
Cleveland Cavaliers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
Cleveland’s tattoo percentage went up a touch from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Wayne Ellington
Ellington has a tattoo on the inside of his right arm.
Alonzo Gee
As a child, Gee was required by his mother to memorize bible verses. One from Isaiah 54:17 is tattooed on his right shoulder: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper.”
Daniel Gibson
Gibson is one of the most heavily tattooed players on the Cavs. This year, he added a tattoo to his hand in tribute to his wife, Keyshia Cole.
Kyrie Irving
Irving has several tattoos, which he’s documented via his twitter account. In the beginning of 2010 he added a photo of the tribute to his mother, and towards the end of that year shared a photo of his “hungry & humble” tattoo.
C.J. Miles
Miles recently got a tattoo of the serenity prayer on his arm. The Deseret News reports that the tattoo has become a part of Miles’ pregame ritual:
That Serenity Prayer is so important to Miles, he rubs the tattoo as part of his pregame ritual. It’s his “mental reminder.”
“I’ve got it tatted on my arm for a reason,” he said. “All I can worry about is tonight, try to help my team win a game today. … If you miss shots, so be it. All you can control is the next one.”
Marreese Speights
Speights has several tattoos on his arms, including his mother’s name on his forearm.
Tristan Thompson
Thompson has a couple of tattoos, including the initials “G2S” meaning “Grind To Shine” and the text “I Am My Brother’s Keeper” on his chest. In a 2012 article about tattoos in the league, he shared his thoughts about basketball-related tattoos:
“I wanted to get something that was going to mean something so I won’t regret it when I’m 50,” Thompson said. “A lot of guys get tattoos because maybe they’re drunk one night or they think something is cool at the time. I’d never get a basketball tattoo because basketball only lasts so long. When you stop playing the game, it’s going to look (dumb).”
Dion Waiters
Waiters kept a rookie year diary for Dime Magazine this year. His March entry talks through all of his tattoos to date, and discusses his plans for future designs.
Luke Walton
Better just to leave it in Walton’s own words: “The first one I got here, I got in college, and I got the Grateful Dead skeletons but with basketballs instead of canes and hats.”
Players without tattoos:
Omri Cassia
Kevin Jones
Shaun Livingston
Chris Quinn
Anderson Varejao
Tyler Zeller
Los Angeles Clippers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Clippers had a decrease in tattoo percentage from last year.
Players with tattoos:
Matt Barnes
In 2008, Barnes founded the Athletes vs. Cancer foundation in memory of his mother, who passed away from lung cancer. In 2010, he added a portrait of his mother, framed by angel’s wings, to his many tattoos. As he explained to Tom Hoffarth of Inside So Cal, “this keeps her around.”
Chauncey Billups
On Billups’s left shoulder is a tattoo of a crowned figure spinning a basketball on his finger. Surrounding the figure are the words “King of the Hill,” a reference to the Denver neighborhood Billups grew up in. In an IGN Sports interview, Billups described it as his favorite tattoo, and explained the significance: “My neighborhood back home is called Park Hill. It’s a hood thing. All of my tats mean something.”
Eric Bledsoe
Bledsoe has tattoos along both arms.
Caron Butler
While on the Wizards, Butler wrote on his blog about tattoos: “Like many other guys in the NBA, I’m big on tattoos too. I may not be a league leader there, though, because I have just four of them. The tat that means the most to me is the one on my left arm. It says “Rest in Peace, Kailo”. That’s my cousin who died in a car accident. She was like a sister to me. I grew up with her and although she’s no longer here, I keep her with me.”
Jamal Crawford
Players from Seattle tend to have a lot of tattoos (Nate Robinson, Jason Terry, Terrence Williams) and Crawford is one of the heaviest. On his left shoulder is one of the dreamiest basketball-themed tattoos in the league: against a background of heavenly clouds, a hoop glows, with “Jamal” lettered across the backboard in Olde English.
DeAndre Jordan
Among Jordan’s many tattoos is a portrait of his grandfather on his stomach, added in 2012.
Lamar Odom
When it comes to tattoos, Odom keeps it simple: “My tattoos are just reminders of people who are close to me.”
DaJuan Summers
Summers has both arms well covered, but it’s his first tattoo, acquired in high school, that he looks to for comfort: “‘It has my name on it,’ says his mother, Twana, a supermarket meat cutter who raised her three kids alone in Baltimore after her husband died when DaJuan was just 3. ‘And it has the names of [his sister] Regina and [brother] Malik. He says when things get tight, he grabs that tattoo.’”
Ronny Turiaf
In March of 2011, Turiaf began work on a new tattoo on his left arm: a phoenix rising from ashes.
Maalik Wayns
Wayns has tattoos on both arms. In 2011, he posted to twitter: “God I hope I’m living right and sorry for the tattoos.”
Players without tattoos:
Willie Green
Blake Griffin
Grant Hill
Ryan Hollins
Chris Paul
