NBA tattoos

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After eight years, this site will no longer be updated due to tumblr’s 2018 terms of service update which bans “inappropriate content.” I just received another notice that a post had been taken down, it’s a photo of a shirtless DeShawn Stevenson getting a tattoo. You can see it here. 

All future NBA Tattoos updates will take place at nbatattoos.com. I’ve just started working on it and cannot figure out a way to automatically upload the hundreds of tumblr posts to the new site so it’ll be a bit of a slow process at first. There are already a few updates on new players (Bol Bol’s Squidward tattoo!) and a lot more to come.

NBA Tattoos is a mostly-fun hobby and I appreciate that it has been a positive place to talk about something that I care about. I like seeing everyone’s posts but my interaction has been pretty minimal. For the people hit hardest/undermined most directly by tumblr’s decision, this is a much bigger issue. I hate that tumblr has dismantled so many networks where people built support systems, felt less isolated, learned about others and themselves. I can’t begin to imagine the decimation of tumblr sites that has taken place if a shirtless photo of DeShawn Stevenson can be grounds for removal. So it’s a bummer that I have to do this work to move the site but a much more profound and upsetting bummer that so many people no longer have the community they’d spent years building. 

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hi

starting to finalize team rosters for the 2018-19 season but will not be posting them on tumblr. Please reach out if you have a suggestion for a good place to move NBA tattoos - [email protected]

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Markelle Fultz’s leg tattoo

A recent Philadelphia Inquirer article mentioned the tattoo on Fultz’s leg,  revisiting this 2017 profile, framed around the design:

On the outside of Fultz's calf is "F2G" painted in the colors of Maryland's state flag — gold and black, red and white. Underneath are Bible excerpts from the Book of James, Chapter 2, Verses 14-17. "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? … Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead."

The F2G stands for Fultz's motto: Faithful to the grind. Tappin picked out the Scripture. "I was like, 'You can be faithful. But you still have to work. You can't just pray about it,' " said Fultz.

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Steph Curry, tattoo artist

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Tattoo artist Niño Lapid of Zebra Piercing and Tattoo Parlor posted the above photo to his instagram, showing a proud Stephen Curry. In 2017, Lapid tattooed a Hebrew word that sounds like “Curry” when read aloud on both Steph and his brother Seth. This week, as seen in another of Lapid’s instagram posts, Curry returned the favor by tattooing his signature onto the artist’s leg. Here’s the finished design:

Lapid also received tattoos from Ayesha Curry and from first-year Warrior Damion Lee.

Curry isn’t the first NBA player to try his hand at tattooing. In 2011, DeShawn Stevenson tattooed his jersey number on one of the tattoo artists at Fallen Sparrow Tattoo in Florida. Marvin Williams tattooed the initials “ST” (for “Stay True”) on the entire staff of Tattoos by Randy as revealed by shop owner/legendary tattoo artist Randy Harris in a 2012 video. More recently, Terry Rozier described trying to tattoo his initials on his own leg.

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Harry Giles III tattoo details

A recent Bleacher Report profile of Giles includes this description of a tattoo on his right shin:

It's a lion's head and a cursive Bible verse, 1 Peter 2:15-16: "For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God's slaves."

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Dwayne Wade’s tattoo

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Dwayne Wade posted the above photo to his instagram account this week. The caption is pretty funny. 

In 2010, Wade discussed his decision to avoid tattoos in an Esquire interview with Scott Raab:

I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do none of that. No tattoos.

When you get to college, you're finally on your own, and you feel like, I'm a man now, I can make my own decisions. When I was growing up, we couldn't wear earrings, couldn't wear hats, and my father said, "No tattoos." So I started wearing hats, I got my ears pierced, and I said, "I'm gonna go to the tattoo parlor." I walked in there and I walked right out. It just wasn't me. And I knew it wasn't me. It would've been forced. I would've been being like other people and not myself.

Wade has long been celebrated by certain parts of NBA fandom for being a star without tattoos. He joins Dwight Howard, Charlie Villanueva, and Jordan Clarkson on the list of NBA players who were in the league for years before getting their first tattoos. Steph Curry is probably right.

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Terry Rozier “LIE” tattoo conspiracy

Terry Rozier entered the 2017-18 season with “3:17″ tattooed on the back of his head. As explained in the GQ video “Tattoo Tour: Terry Rozier” the design references the player’s birthday - March 17 - but also touches on the coincidence/omen that “every time I look at the clock, it’s always 3:17.”

However, in a recent pre-game interview, Rozier mentioned another meaning of the tattoo: “upside-down 3:17 is a lie. That's what kind of world we live in: A big lie.”

Rozier was asked to elaborate on that reading, to which he said:

"I'm just talking about the world we're living in. It's a crazy, crazy world. We're not told the truth of what's really going on. I don't really want to get into it."

The full exchange can be read HERE

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Derrick Rose’s Frank Sinatra-inspired tattoo

Derrick Rose came into this season with a new tattoo on his left wrist. He recently showed the design to Marc Stein of the New York Times and explained its origin:

He then rolled up his left sleeve to show off a new tattoo inscribed on his inner wrist.

“The best revenge,” it reads, “is massive success.”

“Do you know who said that?” Rose continued. “Frank Sinatra. And that’s how I’m rollin’. I’m not playing for anyone else. I’m playing for myself. I’m playing for my family. I’m playing for my son and daughter.”

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Jordan Clarkson’s new tattoos

Excellent profile of Jordan Clarkson in the Athletic this week. Clarkson entered the league with no tattoos, but is now covered on both arms and neck. Clarkson got his first tattoo in February 2018, midway through his fifth season in the NBA, and added the rest during the offseason. Jimmy Hayden of Cleveland’s Focused Tattoo, describes Clarkson’s dedication in the piece:

“In my 20 years of doing this, every now and then I come across someone who has an accelerated sense of commitment to getting tattoos. Jordan’s on a different level,” Hayden said. “He’s dedicated to the images he’s envisioned, the style he wants, no questions asked. He’s not getting a bunch of bullshit.”

To read the whole article, click HERE

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Steve Wiebe updates

Steve Wiebe has become one of the most popular tattoo artists among NBA players, having recently tattooed Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, and John Wall. He was very busy during the offseason, as seen on instagram:

Tattooing Cameron Payne:

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And here’s a close up of the design, which references Space Jam and is similar to the tattoo Kyle Kuzma got earlier this year:

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Tattooing Stanley Johnson:

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Tattooing Stanley Johnson again:

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Tattooing DeAndre Jordan:

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and tattooing Jayson Tatum:

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Lonnie Walker IV’s new tattoo

Spurs rookie Lonnie Walker IV tore his meniscus before the 2017-18 season began and is now recovering from knee surgery. Shortly after his injury was announced, Walker got the above tattoo from Richard DC of Firme Copias of San Antonio. 

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Dwight Howard’s tattoos

Dwight Howard went thirteen seasons in the NBA without any tattoos, but during the offseason added a bunch of work to his arms and chests, as first revealed in his instagram post, above, from August 2018.

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“If you’re going to get a lot of tattoos, it’s only right that at least get what you represent, you know, you’re people around you, people you really care about, or where you’re from.”   - Terry Rozier 

GQ posted a video “tattoo tour” with Rozier which talks through a lot of his designs. 

Some highlights:

- Rozier, his mom, and his aunts all have the same tattoo reading: “God protect me from my friends, because my enemies I can handle”

- on his left forearm, he has a rose growing out of concrete, which he explains, “I got that from Tupac”

- He has a kangaroo tattooed on his leg: “Kangaroo’s my favorite animal, been my favorite since I was young.”

- At the encouragement of his tattoo artist, Rozier tattooed part of the G in “GMB” on his leg himself, but he didn’t like the way it looked and had the artist finish it

- He was 14 years old when he got his first tattoo

To watch the whole video, click HERE

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Brandon Ingram’s many tattoos

When Ingram stretches his arms out, the ink of his tattoos tells stories about where he's been. "Live for Today, Pray for Tomorrow." "Nothing's Promised." He got his first tattoo at age 15, though he didn't know why he wanted one. It wasn't until someone told him years later that reading his body was like reading parts of his life that he realized the tattoos remind him of home.

A new Bleacher Report profile of Ingram talks through many of the designs on the player’s body. 

The piece notes that Ingram studied drawing at Duke, and has designed some of his tattoos himself. To read the whole profile, click HERE

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Kyle Kuzma’s new tattoo is a reference to Space Jam on his right leg. The image, posted to twitter by the tattoo artist Herchell Carrasco of Pachuco Tattoo of Orange County shows a pretty faithful re-creation of Michael’s Secret Stuff from the film:

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“I got the tattoo the other day, my guy Rico in the Bronx did it for me. It was a lot behind it.“        - JR Smith on his “Supreme” logo tattoo

On August 2, JR Smith posted the above photo to his instagram, showing off his new Supreme tattoo. This week, Complex posted a video interview with Smith in which he discusses responses to the tattoo:

“A lot of people asked, ‘are they paying you for it?’ and ‘no.’ ‘So why did you do it?’ ‘Because that’s who I am, that’s why I am who I am.’ It worked out though, I got a lot of great responses. I got a lot of bad feedback... you know the trolls are always going to have something so say, so I’m going to let that rock and take the win.”

During another part of the video, Smith declares the 2s as “definitely my all time favorites” but doesn’t mention that he has a pair tattooed on his chest:

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Portland Trail Blazers, 2017-18

Tattoo percentage: 44% (7 players with tattoos, 9 without)

Players with tattoos:

Al-Farouq Aminu Aminu’s plays for the Nigerian national basketball team and participated in the 2012 Olympics. The continent of Africa is tattooed on his left arm, silhouetting text that reads “Don’t know where you’re going until you know where you come from.”

Wade Baldwin IV Baldwin has a ram tattooed on his chest, a nod to his Aires zodiac symbol.

Ed Davis Isaiah 41:10 is tattooed on Davis’s left arm: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Meyers Leonard Leonard has the words “Forever Blessed” tattooed on the inside of his arms.

Damian Lillard Lillard has a tribute to his hometown of Oakland tattooed on his chest.

Shabazz Napier Napier has a tattoo of a lion on the inside of his left elbow.

CJ Wilcox Wilcox has his entire left arm covered, including a lion’s face on his forearm.

Players without tattoos:

Zach Collins Pat Connaughton Maurice Harkless Jake Layman C.J. McCollum Jusuf Nurkic Georgios Papagiannis Caleb Swanigan Evan Turner