Portland Trail Blazers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 73% (11 players with tattoos, 4 without)
The Trail Blazers showed one of the largest leaps in tattoo percentage this year, with four more tattooed players than last year.
Players with tattoos:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Every one of Aldridge’s tattoos carries religious significance: praying hands, crosses, the text “KEEP GOD FIRST.” When asked about his collection, Aldridge simply replied, “Because I’m a man of strong faith. Strong beliefs.”
Will Barton
The website High School Hopefuls interviewed Barton in his hometown of Baltimore. In the video, he discusses his tattoos, including the text “Where There’s a Will There’s a Way” on his back. As he explains: “My favorite tattoo right there. It’s a clever joint, you know, it’s biblical, it’s got my name in it… I live by that, in the biblical sense, and I live by it, in my name sense. You got me, you’re going to get it done!”
Joel Freeland
Freeland has a tattoo on his right arm.
J.J. Hickson
Hickson’s tattoos run up both arms and across his chest.
Jared Jeffries
Jeffries has a crowned basketball tattooed on his left arm.
Meyers Leonard
Blazers blogger Sarah Hecht shared a great anecdote from the 2012 media day about Leonard’s “Forever Blessed” tattoo:
When the cameraman asked him about the meaning behind the word “Forever” tattooed on his inner arm he leaned back a bit more and showed the word “Blessed” on his right arm. He chuckled a bit then responded, “It means blessed forever.”
Damian Lillard
Lillard has Psalm 37 tattooed on his left arm. He described the personal significance of the text to Sam Amick in a 2012 Sports Illustrated profile: “It’s about not letting anything sway you from what you believe; keep your faith strong.”
Wes Matthews
The recent article in the Oregonian, “Trail Blazers tattoos reveal players’ values” includes an interesting quote from Matthews about his most recent tattoos, the text “Much is earned through God’s blessing” on his right forearm and “Life comes and goes but legacies remain” on his left bicep: “Until I got these, if I wore a shirt, you would never know I had one. But these, they’re not gaudy and they mean something. They’re not an expression of ignorance.”
Eric Maynor
Maynor took advantage of the lockout in 2011 to add a lot of tattoos to his story. When asked by Candace Buckner of the Columbian for the reason behind this burst of new work, Maynor responded with one word: “bored.”
Aleksander (Sasha) Pavlovic
Pavlovic has a tattoo on his right arm.
Nolan Smith
Nolan Smith was nine years old when his father, NBA champion Derek Smith passed away at the age of 34 from a previously undetected heart defect. A 2008 profile published by ESPN during Nolan’s freshman year at Duke described the tattoo tribute the son has for his father:
Years later, when Nolan was 16, he asked Monica if he could get a tattoo. She first refused, then changed her mind when he said he wanted one of his father.
“I said, ‘You can get that, but you have to wear it with honor and integrity,’ ” Monica said. “That’s the only tattoo he’ll ever have.”
The green ink on Nolan Smith’s right biceps reads “Forever watching”. Below that is 4RIP3, and a sketch of his father’s face, followed with “Derek Smith 1961-1996”.
“I have this tattoo on my arm,” Nolan said, “and I remember him at all times.”
Players without tattoos:
Luke Babbitt
Nicholas Batum
Victor Claver
Elliot Williams
Trail Blazers tattoos reveal players’ values (Oregonian)
Great article this week in the Oregonian featuring photos and quotes from Trail Blazers players about their tattoos. I’ve noticed the cherubs peeking out of Jared Jeffries’ jersey before, but had no idea how elaborate his back piece is. Also includes coverage of Wes Matthews, Will Barton, LaMarcus Aldridge, JJ Hickson, Nolan Smith, and Damian Lillard. Hickson definitely has the best quote of the bunch: “Right before college, I got this whole arm blasted and I was like, ‘Oops.’” Click the photo or link above for the full story.
Portland Trail Blazers, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos, 8 players without)
If you look at last year’s page for the Blazers, you’ll note that this year I’m just replicating all of the text I wrote then, as opposed to other teams where I’ve tried to provide new information/research. For the Blazers I’ve decided to phone it in in an act of solidarity with the 2011-12 Blazers team.
Players with tattoos:
LaMarcus Aldridge
While it’s notable that Aldridge has the most tattoos on the Blazers, it’s more notable that every one of his tattoos carries religious significance: praying hands, crosses, the text “KEEP GOD FIRST.” When asked about his collection, Aldridge simply replied, “Because I’m a man of strong faith. Strong beliefs.”
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.
J.J. Hickson
Hickson’s tattoos run up both arms and across his chest.
Wesley Matthews
To show his love for his mother, Matthews got a tattoo that reads “Dynamic Duo” for his eighteenth birthday. For an NBA.com article titled “Wesley Matthews: A Proud Mama’s Boy,” his mother recalled, “I wouldn’t let him get a tattoo until he was of legal age. He had little skinny arms then so it wasn’t a very big tattoo.”
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.
Nolan Smith
Nolan Smith was nine years old when his father, NBA champion Derek Smith passed away at the age of 34 from a previously undetected heart defect. A 2008 profile published by ESPN during Nolan’s freshman year at Duke described the tattoo tribute the son has for his father:
Years later, when Nolan was 16, he asked Monica if he could get a tattoo. She first refused, then changed her mind when he said he wanted one of his father.
“I said, ‘You can get that, but you have to wear it with honor and integrity,’ ” Monica said. “That’s the only tattoo he’ll ever have.”
The green ink on Nolan Smith’s right biceps reads “Forever watching”. Below that is 4RIP3, and a sketch of his father’s face, followed with “Derek Smith 1961-1996”.
“I have this tattoo on my arm,” Nolan said, “and I remember him at all times.”
Shawne Williams
Williams has a tattoo on his left forearm.
Players without tattoos:
Luke Babbitt
Nicholas Batum
Raymond Felton
Jonny Flynn
Craig Smith
Hasheem Thabeet
Kurt Thomas
Elliot Williams
No longer on roster:
Armon Johnson: no tattoos
Greg Oden:Oden entered the league with a tribute to his deceased best friend over his heart, as described by a New York Times piece.
Mehmet Okur: 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
Portland Trail Blazers, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 73% (11 players with tattoos, 4 without)
The Trail Blazers showed one of the largest leaps in tattoo percentage this year, with four more tattooed players than last year.
Players with tattoos:
LaMarcus Aldridge
Every one of Aldridge’s tattoos carries religious significance: praying hands, crosses, the text “KEEP GOD FIRST.” When asked about his collection, Aldridge simply replied, “Because I’m a man of strong faith. Strong beliefs.”
Will Barton
The website High School Hopefuls interviewed Barton in his hometown of Baltimore. In the video, he discusses his tattoos, including the text “Where There’s a Will There’s a Way” on his back. As he explains: “My favorite tattoo right there. It’s a clever joint, you know, it’s biblical, it’s got my name in it… I live by that, in the biblical sense, and I live by it, in my name sense. You got me, you’re going to get it done!”
Joel Freeland
Freeland has a tattoo on his right arm.
J.J. Hickson
Hickson’s tattoos run up both arms and across his chest.
Jared Jeffries
Jeffries has a crowned basketball tattooed on his left arm.
Meyers Leonard
Blazers blogger Sarah Hecht shared a great anecdote from the 2012 media day about Leonard’s “Forever Blessed” tattoo:
When the cameraman asked him about the meaning behind the word “Forever” tattooed on his inner arm he leaned back a bit more and showed the word “Blessed” on his right arm. He chuckled a bit then responded, “It means blessed forever.”
Damian Lillard
Lillard has Psalm 37 tattooed on his left arm. He described the personal significance of the text to Sam Amick in a 2012 Sports Illustrated profile: “It’s about not letting anything sway you from what you believe; keep your faith strong.”
Wes Matthews
The recent article in the Oregonian, “Trail Blazers tattoos reveal players’ values” includes an interesting quote from Matthews about his most recent tattoos, the text “Much is earned through God’s blessing” on his right forearm and “Life comes and goes but legacies remain” on his left bicep: “Until I got these, if I wore a shirt, you would never know I had one. But these, they’re not gaudy and they mean something. They’re not an expression of ignorance.”
Eric Maynor
Maynor took advantage of the lockout in 2011 to add a lot of tattoos to his story. When asked by Candace Buckner of the Columbian for the reason behind this burst of new work, Maynor responded with one word: “bored.”
Aleksander (Sasha) Pavlovic
Pavlovic has a tattoo on his right arm.
Nolan Smith
Nolan Smith was nine years old when his father, NBA champion Derek Smith passed away at the age of 34 from a previously undetected heart defect. A 2008 profile published by ESPN during Nolan’s freshman year at Duke described the tattoo tribute the son has for his father:
Years later, when Nolan was 16, he asked Monica if he could get a tattoo. She first refused, then changed her mind when he said he wanted one of his father.
“I said, ‘You can get that, but you have to wear it with honor and integrity,’ ” Monica said. “That’s the only tattoo he’ll ever have.”
The green ink on Nolan Smith’s right biceps reads “Forever watching”. Below that is 4RIP3, and a sketch of his father’s face, followed with “Derek Smith 1961-1996”.
“I have this tattoo on my arm,” Nolan said, “and I remember him at all times.”
Players without tattoos:
Luke Babbitt
Nicholas Batum
Victor Claver
Elliot Williams
Trail Blazers tattoos reveal players’ values (Oregonian)
Great article this week in the Oregonian featuring photos and quotes from Trail Blazers players about their tattoos. I’ve noticed the cherubs peeking out of Jared Jeffries’ jersey before, but had no idea how elaborate his back piece is. Also includes coverage of Wes Matthews, Will Barton, LaMarcus Aldridge, JJ Hickson, Nolan Smith, and Damian Lillard. Hickson definitely has the best quote of the bunch: “Right before college, I got this whole arm blasted and I was like, ‘Oops.’” Click the photo or link above for the full story.
Portland Trail Blazers, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 47% (7 players with tattoos, 8 players without)
If you look at last year’s page for the Blazers, you’ll note that this year I’m just replicating all of the text I wrote then, as opposed to other teams where I’ve tried to provide new information/research. For the Blazers I’ve decided to phone it in in an act of solidarity with the 2011-12 Blazers team.
Players with tattoos:
LaMarcus Aldridge
While it’s notable that Aldridge has the most tattoos on the Blazers, it’s more notable that every one of his tattoos carries religious significance: praying hands, crosses, the text “KEEP GOD FIRST.” When asked about his collection, Aldridge simply replied, “Because I’m a man of strong faith. Strong beliefs.”
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.
J.J. Hickson
Hickson’s tattoos run up both arms and across his chest.
Wesley Matthews
To show his love for his mother, Matthews got a tattoo that reads “Dynamic Duo” for his eighteenth birthday. For an NBA.com article titled “Wesley Matthews: A Proud Mama’s Boy,” his mother recalled, “I wouldn’t let him get a tattoo until he was of legal age. He had little skinny arms then so it wasn’t a very big tattoo.”
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.
Nolan Smith
Nolan Smith was nine years old when his father, NBA champion Derek Smith passed away at the age of 34 from a previously undetected heart defect. A 2008 profile published by ESPN during Nolan’s freshman year at Duke described the tattoo tribute the son has for his father:
Years later, when Nolan was 16, he asked Monica if he could get a tattoo. She first refused, then changed her mind when he said he wanted one of his father.
“I said, ‘You can get that, but you have to wear it with honor and integrity,’ ” Monica said. “That’s the only tattoo he’ll ever have.”
The green ink on Nolan Smith’s right biceps reads “Forever watching”. Below that is 4RIP3, and a sketch of his father’s face, followed with “Derek Smith 1961-1996”.
“I have this tattoo on my arm,” Nolan said, “and I remember him at all times.”
Shawne Williams
Williams has a tattoo on his left forearm.
Players without tattoos:
Luke Babbitt
Nicholas Batum
Raymond Felton
Jonny Flynn
Craig Smith
Hasheem Thabeet
Kurt Thomas
Elliot Williams
No longer on roster:
Armon Johnson: no tattoos
Greg Oden:Oden entered the league with a tribute to his deceased best friend over his heart, as described by a New York Times piece.
Mehmet Okur: 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
