Boston Celtics, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Celtics kept their tattoo percentage even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Brandon Bass
Among Bass’s many tattoos is the phrase “God, Grind, Greatness” on the inside of his left bicep. In a profile by Ben Watanabe, Bass explained that the phrase originated during his high school days:
“During the week, I would work out, and on the weekend I would go play in tournaments. So I was praying, working on my game and then when we were in tournaments, I was getting ranked higher. To me, it equaled success, me praying and working hard, so that’s how I came up with ‘God, Grind, Greatness.’”
Jordan Crawford
Crawford has the words “Fab Five” tattooed on his back of his arms.
Kevin Garnett
As reported by Red’s Army, Garnett got a new tattoo in August of 2012. The design was done at FY Ink, who shared a handful of photos of the work in progress.
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.”
Fab Melo
Melo has a tattoo on his right shoulder.
Paul Pierce
In September 2000, just before Pierce’s third year as a pro, he was stabbed 11 times at a nightclub in Boston. Several years later, he had a basketball with a dagger through it tattooed on his arm. As described by Pierce to the website Vegas Deluxe, “It represents how close I came to losing my life. Basketball is my gift and my curse. Obviously there are all the good things that come from playing basketball, but you also have to deal with all the negative things that come with being a basketball player.”
Rajon Rondo
Rondo has the double-R Rolls Royce logo tattooed on his back, which also references his initials.
Jason Terry
Terry has a tattoo of Underdog, which he explained in a 2008 Dime Magazine interview: “I never was seen as one of the best players on the court ’til senior year of high school. Even at Arizona, I was not a starter ’til senior year.”
Chris Wilcox
Wilcox has tattoos on both arms.
Terrence Williams
Williams is one of several heavily-tattooed players from Seattle. A 2009 New York Times profile touched upon this phenomenon, noting that Williams and Nate Robinson grew up together “in the Seattle development referred to as “8 Block,” a reference to the government-assisted housing known as Section 8.” Two of the most heavily-inked players in the league, Williams and Robinson have a matching tattoo of the number 8 inside a spiderweb to commemorate their shared adolescence.
Players without tattoos:
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Shavlik Randolph
Jared Sullinger
D.J. White
Sacramento Kings, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 50% (7 players with tattoos, 7 players without)
The Kings keep their percentage dead even with last year’s team regardless of a few trades and the addition of rookies Fredette, Honeycutt, and Thomas.
Players with tattoos:
DeMarcus Cousins
In August of 2011, Cousins posted a photo on Twitter of his new tattoo reading “Misunderstood” along his calf.
Donte Greene
Greene has tattoos on both arms.
Tyler Honeycutt
On Honeycutt’s right shoulder is a tattoo of a hand holding a basketball framed by the text “City of Angels” in script.
John Salmons
Salmons has Chinese characters on his right arm. According to the website NiuBBall.com, it’s identical to Jermaine O’Neal’s Chinese tattoo, and means “person who sells coffins.”
Isaiah Thomas
Among Thomas’s many tattoos is a quote from the film Hoop Dreams on his right shoulder.
Marcus Thornton
Among Thornton’s many tattoos is a line of text along his collar that reads: “Protected by God I fear no man.”
Terrence Williams
Another of the heavily-tattooed players born and raised in Seattle, Williams has a tattoo of the number 8 resting in a spiderweb, a reference to the Section 8 housing that he and Nate Robinson and their other friends grew up in, a tattoo that many of them have.
Players without tattoos:
Tyreke Evans
Jimmer Fredette
Francisco Garcia
Chuck Hayes
Travis Outlaw
Jason Thompson
Hassan Whiteside
Houston Rockets 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 36% (5 players with tattoos, 9 without)
Obviously their major story this year has been Yao Ming’s absence, but slowly this story is transforming to the way this otherwise young team is coming together. More than half of the Houston Rockets are under 25, and while Luis Scola is still a major force, the players to watch are clearly the younger ones. Following the storyline of their tattoos, it’s obvious these guys have been through some trials, and rebuilding a post-Yao team seems like a walk through the park by comparison.
—
Players with tattoos:
Jordan Hill
While at college, the heavily tattooed Hill described his tattoos for the Arizona Daily Wildcat, including the tribute for his mother: “My mom passed when I was 3, so I got “in love and memory”, the year she was born and when she died, a basketball and a banner with her name in it, Carol. And on the bottom I got ‘Doing it for you.’”
Courtney Lee
A 2010 NBA.com article revisited the end of Lee’s freshman year of college, when his roommate and close friend Danny Rumph died from a heart attack. To commemorate their friendship, and pay tribute, Lee got a tattoo on his right arm.
Brad Miller
Miller has a tattoo of cartoon character Scrappy Doo.
Patrick Patterson
While still at Kentucky, 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.”
Terrence Williams
Another of the heavily-tattooed players born and raised in Seattle, Williams has a tattoo of the number 8 resting in a spiderweb, a reference to the Section 8 housing that he and Nate Robinson and their other friends grew up in, a tattoo that many of them have.
Players without tattoos:
Marqus Blakely
Chase Budinger
Goran Dragic
Chuck Hayes
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.”
Luis Scola: Once said tattoos are not cute (“no quedan lindos”).
Hasheem Thabeet
Yao Ming
Boston Celtics, 2012-13
Tattoo percentage: 67% (10 players with tattoos, 5 without)
The Celtics kept their tattoo percentage even with last year.
Players with tattoos:
Brandon Bass
Among Bass’s many tattoos is the phrase “God, Grind, Greatness” on the inside of his left bicep. In a profile by Ben Watanabe, Bass explained that the phrase originated during his high school days:
“During the week, I would work out, and on the weekend I would go play in tournaments. So I was praying, working on my game and then when we were in tournaments, I was getting ranked higher. To me, it equaled success, me praying and working hard, so that’s how I came up with ‘God, Grind, Greatness.’”
Jordan Crawford
Crawford has the words “Fab Five” tattooed on his back of his arms.
Kevin Garnett
As reported by Red’s Army, Garnett got a new tattoo in August of 2012. The design was done at FY Ink, who shared a handful of photos of the work in progress.
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.”
Fab Melo
Melo has a tattoo on his right shoulder.
Paul Pierce
In September 2000, just before Pierce’s third year as a pro, he was stabbed 11 times at a nightclub in Boston. Several years later, he had a basketball with a dagger through it tattooed on his arm. As described by Pierce to the website Vegas Deluxe, “It represents how close I came to losing my life. Basketball is my gift and my curse. Obviously there are all the good things that come from playing basketball, but you also have to deal with all the negative things that come with being a basketball player.”
Rajon Rondo
Rondo has the double-R Rolls Royce logo tattooed on his back, which also references his initials.
Jason Terry
Terry has a tattoo of Underdog, which he explained in a 2008 Dime Magazine interview: “I never was seen as one of the best players on the court ’til senior year of high school. Even at Arizona, I was not a starter ’til senior year.”
Chris Wilcox
Wilcox has tattoos on both arms.
Terrence Williams
Williams is one of several heavily-tattooed players from Seattle. A 2009 New York Times profile touched upon this phenomenon, noting that Williams and Nate Robinson grew up together “in the Seattle development referred to as “8 Block,” a reference to the government-assisted housing known as Section 8.” Two of the most heavily-inked players in the league, Williams and Robinson have a matching tattoo of the number 8 inside a spiderweb to commemorate their shared adolescence.
Players without tattoos:
Avery Bradley
Jeff Green
Shavlik Randolph
Jared Sullinger
D.J. White
Sacramento Kings, 2011-12
Tattoo percentage: 50% (7 players with tattoos, 7 players without)
The Kings keep their percentage dead even with last year’s team regardless of a few trades and the addition of rookies Fredette, Honeycutt, and Thomas.
Players with tattoos:
DeMarcus Cousins
In August of 2011, Cousins posted a photo on Twitter of his new tattoo reading “Misunderstood” along his calf.
Donte Greene
Greene has tattoos on both arms.
Tyler Honeycutt
On Honeycutt’s right shoulder is a tattoo of a hand holding a basketball framed by the text “City of Angels” in script.
John Salmons
Salmons has Chinese characters on his right arm. According to the website NiuBBall.com, it’s identical to Jermaine O’Neal’s Chinese tattoo, and means “person who sells coffins.”
Isaiah Thomas
Among Thomas’s many tattoos is a quote from the film Hoop Dreams on his right shoulder.
Marcus Thornton
Among Thornton’s many tattoos is a line of text along his collar that reads: “Protected by God I fear no man.”
Terrence Williams
Another of the heavily-tattooed players born and raised in Seattle, Williams has a tattoo of the number 8 resting in a spiderweb, a reference to the Section 8 housing that he and Nate Robinson and their other friends grew up in, a tattoo that many of them have.
Players without tattoos:
Tyreke Evans
Jimmer Fredette
Francisco Garcia
Chuck Hayes
Travis Outlaw
Jason Thompson
Hassan Whiteside
Houston Rockets 2010-11
Tattoo percentage: 36% (5 players with tattoos, 9 without)
Obviously their major story this year has been Yao Ming’s absence, but slowly this story is transforming to the way this otherwise young team is coming together. More than half of the Houston Rockets are under 25, and while Luis Scola is still a major force, the players to watch are clearly the younger ones. Following the storyline of their tattoos, it’s obvious these guys have been through some trials, and rebuilding a post-Yao team seems like a walk through the park by comparison.
—
Players with tattoos:
Jordan Hill
While at college, the heavily tattooed Hill described his tattoos for the Arizona Daily Wildcat, including the tribute for his mother: “My mom passed when I was 3, so I got “in love and memory”, the year she was born and when she died, a basketball and a banner with her name in it, Carol. And on the bottom I got ‘Doing it for you.’”
Courtney Lee
A 2010 NBA.com article revisited the end of Lee’s freshman year of college, when his roommate and close friend Danny Rumph died from a heart attack. To commemorate their friendship, and pay tribute, Lee got a tattoo on his right arm.
Brad Miller
Miller has a tattoo of cartoon character Scrappy Doo.
Patrick Patterson
While still at Kentucky, 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.”
Terrence Williams
Another of the heavily-tattooed players born and raised in Seattle, Williams has a tattoo of the number 8 resting in a spiderweb, a reference to the Section 8 housing that he and Nate Robinson and their other friends grew up in, a tattoo that many of them have.
Players without tattoos:
Marqus Blakely
Chase Budinger
Goran Dragic
Chuck Hayes
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.”
Luis Scola: Once said tattoos are not cute (“no quedan lindos”).
Hasheem Thabeet
Yao Ming
