New York Knicks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
The Knicks tattoo percentage decreased a bit over last year.
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony caused a bit of controversy during the 2012 American League Division Series by rooting for the Orioles instead of the Yankees. When challenged by the New York Post about this allegiance, Anthony pointed to a tattoo of the Orioles logo on his arm and explained that he’d been a fan of the team since he was a child.
Marcus Camby
A long profile of Camby appeared on ESPN Boston earlier this year in honor of UMass retiring his jersey. The article mentions that Camby got his first tattoo—“a ball, a hoop, and ‘Mr. Camby’ on his left triceps”—following his sophomore season at UMass.
Tyson Chandler
Chandler appeared naked on the cover of the 2012 “Body” issue of ESPN the Magazine. The photo revealed that Chandler has a section of the bible verse Joshua 1:9 tattooed on the right side of his ribcage: “Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Jason Kidd
Kidd’s rarely seen panther tattoo speaks to his longtime love of big cats: “I got this tattoo so long ago. All the way back to about the time I was drafted by the Mavericks. I got it done at a shop in the Bay Area (San Francisco). I just like tigers, panthers, cats in general. I have always wanted to own a panther.”
Kenyon Martin
The Sports Illustrated Vault twitter account recently dug out an old photo of Martin in a Nets jersey revealing his usually-hidden “Bad Ass Yellow Boy” tattoo.
Quentin Richardson
A 2010 report by the Orlando Sentinel talks through Richardson’s many designs, and includes his father’s take on his tattoos: “Why you want to write all over yourself? If you want to write, go write a book.”
Iman Shumpert
In January of 2013, Shumpert revealed that he has a tattoo of cartoon character Johnny Bravo on his left arm, as detailed by Ball Don’t Lie.
J.R. Smith
The New York Times ran an exhaustive discussion of Smith’s tattoos in December of 2012, which featured his surprising confession: “I actually hated tattoos. I told myself I would never get like this.”
Amar’e Stoudemire
In February of 2012, Stoudemire’s older brother Hazell passed away. When Stoudemire came back from the funeral, he had a teardrop tattoo beneath his right eye. A clip from the forthcoming Stoudemire documentary “In the Moment” shows the player discussing his brother and the tattoo: “The reason I got the teardrop tattoo is because I’m forever crying inside.”
Players without tattoos:
Earl Barron
Chris Copeland
Raymond Felton
Steve Novak
Pablo Prigioni
James White
No longer on roster:
Kurt Thomas: no
Rasheed Wallace: yes
New York Knicks 2011-12
Tattoo percentage:67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
Last year the Knicks tied with the Lakers for the team with the most tattooed players. There isn’t anything really to be read into the numbers, or the decline—both rookies have tattoos, and their key free agency pickup (Tyson Chandler) has some of the most distinctive designs in the league. A lot of good stories in this collection of tattoos…
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony’s tattoos pretty much speak for themselves—flaming basketballs, West Baltimore, the Puerto Rican flag—so he doesn’t speak to them that often. When he does, it’s pretty funny, as in this interview with Complex:
Complex: Who’s your tattoo artist?
Carmelo: I go to a guy out of Atlanta. I don’t like to get stuck by too many people’s needles. One guy. I did most of them by myself, though.
Complex: Most of the tattoos? You serious?
Carmelo: No. [Laughs]
Mike Bibby
Bibby’s website features a detailed rundown of all of his tattoos.
Tyson Chandler
One of the storylines of the Mavericks’ 2011 championship was Chandler’s maturation. In the offseason, this development manifested itself in his tattoos. He’s in the process of having his first tattoo—a flaming basketball with his name under it—removed. His newest work is a portrait of his son, which is not only one of my favorite designs in recent memory, but also furthers this idea of turning away from self-involvement (tattoo of his name) to the world around him (tattoo of family).
There’s also some evidence in his tattoos that he’s more self-possessed and able to stand on his own. Last March I pointed out that he has an almost-identical tattoo to Allen Iverson. These days he’s filled the design out and added a bunch of work around it, making it his own.
Baron Davis
While the design is a mystery, Davis does have a back tattoo that peeks out of the left side of his uni occasionally.
Josh Harrellson
Although it’s mostly hidden by his jersey, Harrellson has a tattoo of a cross in memory of his grandfather. The Lexington Herald-Ledger article that shares that info also mentions that Jorts “visits children’s hospitals and homeless shelters. He regularly goes to the Humane Society to play with the dogs. ‘I don’t think they get enough love and affection up there,’ he said.”
Jared Jeffries
If you haven’t already, please read this. Jeffries has a crowned basketball tattooed on his left arm.
Iman Shumpert
According to a NY Post profile, Shumpert has “about 15” tattoos.
J.R. Smith
Smith is one of the most heavily tattooed players in the league. This profile from Dime Magazine which covers both his Yankees-flipping “Young Money” neck tattoo and his “married to the game” ring finger NBA tattoo (which includes “I Do” in script) best covers the spectrum of his work.
Amar’e Stoudemire
If I didn’t do this blog I would do a blog that charts out all of the NBA references in Brick Squad songs. “You know Flocka shoot first like John Starks” being my favorite. This French Montana song about Amar’e Stoudemire is pretty likable, even if it’s a little direct. Also, I’m skeptical of the edit but I like thinking that STAT still has a kickflip. Anyway, there’s a visit to the tattoo parlor in the video which is why I’ve included it here. If you are interested in a rundown of all of Stoudemire’s tattoos, I recommend The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac.
Bill Walker
During his rookie year, Walker had the number “1023” tattooed on his neck. The significance, as explained to the Providence Journal, was “to remind myself to never forget where I came from.” Walker grew up at 1023 Minton Street, in Huntington, West Virginia.
Players without tattoos:
Toney Douglas
Landry Fields
Jerome Jordan
Jeremy Lin
Steve Novak
No longer on roster:
Renaldo Balkman:Balkman has “HUSTLE” and “HARDER” tattooed on his calves and on his eyelids.
San Antonio Spurs, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 53% (8 players with tattoos, 7 without)
There’s a famous story about how the 2003 Finals had the all-time lowest ratings ever, a nadir generally attributed to the boredom inspired by the Spurs. I’m tempted to draw a correlation to their tattoos. Certainly they have their share of bummers, but for me, they’re outweighed by emotional tributes and really hectic designs. Really the only reason to hate the Spurs is Tony Parker’s eyebrows.
—
Players with tattoos:
James Anderson
Anderson has a tattoo on his left shoulder that Popovich can’t get enough of.
DeJuan Blair
Blair came into the league with a couple of tattoos, but in the last year he’s filled in all of the space between his early work. He’s been posting photos on Twitter of his newest designs, including this one on his hands.
Da’Sean Butler
Last summer, Butler announced he had gotten a new tattoo on his back via Twitter, and changed his Twitter background to a photo of the design which reads, “BUTLER The Boy Wonder.”
Tim Duncan
A renowned Dungeons and Dragons player, Duncan has a wizard tattooed on his chest and a jester on his back.
Danny Green
Green has a couple of tattoos on his arms.
George Hill
A sweet George Hill story: Hill grew up in Indianapolis and upon graduating high school, received several college scholarship offers, including Indiana University and Temple. He chose to stay in Indianapolis and attend Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) so he could remain close with his ailing great-grandfather, Gilbert Edison. His great-grandfather died before the school year began, theoretically giving Hill the option to switch to a bigger program, but in honor of the man, who always taught him to be a man of his word, Hill remained at IUPUI. He later got a tattoo of a cross piercing a basketball alongside his great-grandfather’s name in tribute.
Richard Jefferson
One of the most universally derided tattoos in the league, Jefferson’s left shoulder is marked with his initials, which are circled with some cursive text reading “God Family Brothers Parents.” But like elementary school cursive, not the script that most tattoos tend towards. Also the white space in the letter R is a basketball. Looks a lot like it was drawn for/by a child.
Tony Parker
When he and Eva Longoria got married, they both got tattoos of their wedding date. In the aftermath of their breakup, TMZ alleged that Longoria had the tattoo removed, although she denied it in interviews.
Players without tattoos:
Matt Bonner
Manu Ginobili: Ginobili told an Argentine magazine that the only thing he thinks important enough to get a tattoo of is perhaps the name of your child, and that people inevitably regret tattoos and they’re too expensive (“A mí no me gustan. Aunque por ahí un día se me ocurre tatuarme algo importante como el nombre de un hijo. Por ahora no siento esa necesidad. Pienso que, tarde o temprano, uno se arrepiente. Y cuesta sacarlo”).
Antonio McDyess
Gary Neal
Steve Novak
Chris Quinn
Tiago Splitter
New York Knicks, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 60% (9 players with tattoos, 6 without)
The Knicks tattoo percentage decreased a bit over last year.
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony caused a bit of controversy during the 2012 American League Division Series by rooting for the Orioles instead of the Yankees. When challenged by the New York Post about this allegiance, Anthony pointed to a tattoo of the Orioles logo on his arm and explained that he’d been a fan of the team since he was a child.
Marcus Camby
A long profile of Camby appeared on ESPN Boston earlier this year in honor of UMass retiring his jersey. The article mentions that Camby got his first tattoo—“a ball, a hoop, and ‘Mr. Camby’ on his left triceps”—following his sophomore season at UMass.
Tyson Chandler
Chandler appeared naked on the cover of the 2012 “Body” issue of ESPN the Magazine. The photo revealed that Chandler has a section of the bible verse Joshua 1:9 tattooed on the right side of his ribcage: “Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Jason Kidd
Kidd’s rarely seen panther tattoo speaks to his longtime love of big cats: “I got this tattoo so long ago. All the way back to about the time I was drafted by the Mavericks. I got it done at a shop in the Bay Area (San Francisco). I just like tigers, panthers, cats in general. I have always wanted to own a panther.”
Kenyon Martin
The Sports Illustrated Vault twitter account recently dug out an old photo of Martin in a Nets jersey revealing his usually-hidden “Bad Ass Yellow Boy” tattoo.
Quentin Richardson
A 2010 report by the Orlando Sentinel talks through Richardson’s many designs, and includes his father’s take on his tattoos: “Why you want to write all over yourself? If you want to write, go write a book.”
Iman Shumpert
In January of 2013, Shumpert revealed that he has a tattoo of cartoon character Johnny Bravo on his left arm, as detailed by Ball Don’t Lie.
J.R. Smith
The New York Times ran an exhaustive discussion of Smith’s tattoos in December of 2012, which featured his surprising confession: “I actually hated tattoos. I told myself I would never get like this.”
Amar’e Stoudemire
In February of 2012, Stoudemire’s older brother Hazell passed away. When Stoudemire came back from the funeral, he had a teardrop tattoo beneath his right eye. A clip from the forthcoming Stoudemire documentary “In the Moment” shows the player discussing his brother and the tattoo: “The reason I got the teardrop tattoo is because I’m forever crying inside.”
Players without tattoos:
Earl Barron
Chris Copeland
Raymond Felton
Steve Novak
Pablo Prigioni
James White
No longer on roster:
Kurt Thomas: no
Rasheed Wallace: yes
New York Knicks 2011-12
Tattoo percentage:67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
Last year the Knicks tied with the Lakers for the team with the most tattooed players. There isn’t anything really to be read into the numbers, or the decline—both rookies have tattoos, and their key free agency pickup (Tyson Chandler) has some of the most distinctive designs in the league. A lot of good stories in this collection of tattoos…
Players with tattoos:
Carmelo Anthony
Anthony’s tattoos pretty much speak for themselves—flaming basketballs, West Baltimore, the Puerto Rican flag—so he doesn’t speak to them that often. When he does, it’s pretty funny, as in this interview with Complex:
Complex: Who’s your tattoo artist?
Carmelo: I go to a guy out of Atlanta. I don’t like to get stuck by too many people’s needles. One guy. I did most of them by myself, though.Complex: Most of the tattoos? You serious?
Carmelo: No. [Laughs]
Mike Bibby
Bibby’s website features a detailed rundown of all of his tattoos.
Tyson Chandler
One of the storylines of the Mavericks’ 2011 championship was Chandler’s maturation. In the offseason, this development manifested itself in his tattoos. He’s in the process of having his first tattoo—a flaming basketball with his name under it—removed. His newest work is a portrait of his son, which is not only one of my favorite designs in recent memory, but also furthers this idea of turning away from self-involvement (tattoo of his name) to the world around him (tattoo of family).
There’s also some evidence in his tattoos that he’s more self-possessed and able to stand on his own. Last March I pointed out that he has an almost-identical tattoo to Allen Iverson. These days he’s filled the design out and added a bunch of work around it, making it his own.
Baron Davis
While the design is a mystery, Davis does have a back tattoo that peeks out of the left side of his uni occasionally.
Josh Harrellson
Although it’s mostly hidden by his jersey, Harrellson has a tattoo of a cross in memory of his grandfather. The Lexington Herald-Ledger article that shares that info also mentions that Jorts “visits children’s hospitals and homeless shelters. He regularly goes to the Humane Society to play with the dogs. ‘I don’t think they get enough love and affection up there,’ he said.”
Jared Jeffries
If you haven’t already, please read this. Jeffries has a crowned basketball tattooed on his left arm.
Iman Shumpert
According to a NY Post profile, Shumpert has “about 15” tattoos.
J.R. Smith
Smith is one of the most heavily tattooed players in the league. This profile from Dime Magazine which covers both his Yankees-flipping “Young Money” neck tattoo and his “married to the game” ring finger NBA tattoo (which includes “I Do” in script) best covers the spectrum of his work.
Amar’e Stoudemire
If I didn’t do this blog I would do a blog that charts out all of the NBA references in Brick Squad songs. “You know Flocka shoot first like John Starks” being my favorite. This French Montana song about Amar’e Stoudemire is pretty likable, even if it’s a little direct. Also, I’m skeptical of the edit but I like thinking that STAT still has a kickflip. Anyway, there’s a visit to the tattoo parlor in the video which is why I’ve included it here. If you are interested in a rundown of all of Stoudemire’s tattoos, I recommend The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac.
Bill Walker
During his rookie year, Walker had the number “1023” tattooed on his neck. The significance, as explained to the Providence Journal, was “to remind myself to never forget where I came from.” Walker grew up at 1023 Minton Street, in Huntington, West Virginia.
Players without tattoos:
Toney Douglas
Landry Fields
Jerome Jordan
Jeremy Lin
Steve Novak
No longer on roster:
Renaldo Balkman:Balkman has “HUSTLE” and “HARDER” tattooed on his calves and on his eyelids.
San Antonio Spurs, 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 53% (8 players with tattoos, 7 without)
There’s a famous story about how the 2003 Finals had the all-time lowest ratings ever, a nadir generally attributed to the boredom inspired by the Spurs. I’m tempted to draw a correlation to their tattoos. Certainly they have their share of bummers, but for me, they’re outweighed by emotional tributes and really hectic designs. Really the only reason to hate the Spurs is Tony Parker’s eyebrows.
—
Players with tattoos:
James Anderson
Anderson has a tattoo on his left shoulder that Popovich can’t get enough of.
DeJuan Blair
Blair came into the league with a couple of tattoos, but in the last year he’s filled in all of the space between his early work. He’s been posting photos on Twitter of his newest designs, including this one on his hands.
Da’Sean Butler
Last summer, Butler announced he had gotten a new tattoo on his back via Twitter, and changed his Twitter background to a photo of the design which reads, “BUTLER The Boy Wonder.”
Tim Duncan
A renowned Dungeons and Dragons player, Duncan has a wizard tattooed on his chest and a jester on his back.
Danny Green
Green has a couple of tattoos on his arms.
George Hill
A sweet George Hill story: Hill grew up in Indianapolis and upon graduating high school, received several college scholarship offers, including Indiana University and Temple. He chose to stay in Indianapolis and attend Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) so he could remain close with his ailing great-grandfather, Gilbert Edison. His great-grandfather died before the school year began, theoretically giving Hill the option to switch to a bigger program, but in honor of the man, who always taught him to be a man of his word, Hill remained at IUPUI. He later got a tattoo of a cross piercing a basketball alongside his great-grandfather’s name in tribute.
Richard Jefferson
One of the most universally derided tattoos in the league, Jefferson’s left shoulder is marked with his initials, which are circled with some cursive text reading “God Family Brothers Parents.” But like elementary school cursive, not the script that most tattoos tend towards. Also the white space in the letter R is a basketball. Looks a lot like it was drawn for/by a child.
Tony Parker
When he and Eva Longoria got married, they both got tattoos of their wedding date. In the aftermath of their breakup, TMZ alleged that Longoria had the tattoo removed, although she denied it in interviews.
Players without tattoos:
Matt Bonner
Manu Ginobili: Ginobili told an Argentine magazine that the only thing he thinks important enough to get a tattoo of is perhaps the name of your child, and that people inevitably regret tattoos and they’re too expensive (“A mí no me gustan. Aunque por ahí un día se me ocurre tatuarme algo importante como el nombre de un hijo. Por ahora no siento esa necesidad. Pienso que, tarde o temprano, uno se arrepiente. Y cuesta sacarlo”).
Antonio McDyess
Gary Neal
Steve Novak
Chris Quinn
Tiago Splitter
