Kevin Garnett's tattoo on one arm is the initials of his name "K.G."; the other arm is a basketball with "Blood, Sweat and Tears" written on it< /p>

An American reporter once asked Yao Ming an interesting question: "In the NBA's rookie season (Rookie Season, referring to newcomers participating in NBA games), what impressed you deeply?" Yao Ming answered vividly. , what impressed me most was the Chinese character tattoos on some players!

In fact, it is difficult to verify when it became popular in the NBA to tattoo Chinese characters on the body. In the early 1990s, Rodman, who had tattoos and acted strangely, had already caused a fuss in the American media. After all kinds of weird tattoos appeared, Chinese character tattoos also appeared!

The first person to have Chinese character tattoos should be Camby, the former New York Knicks player and currently playing for the Nuggets. He has two large Chinese characters "Mian" tattooed on his right arm, which is very conspicuous. This also baffles the Chinese people. When did the "Mian" appear?

Camby said: "I wrote these two words to remind myself to always remember two important things. 'Zun' means love for family, and 'Mian' means striving to do the best." Okay."

As soon as this trend started, we saw more Chinese characters on NBA players, some of them could understand it, and some of them were confused. From a popular point of view, black players falling in love with Chinese character tattoos can be regarded as a kind of propaganda for Chinese culture - even if such propaganda can only be on a very shallow "skin".

Iverson, the leading player of the Philadelphia 76ers, is nicknamed the "God of War" and is also a loyal "God of War" because he has the word "loyalty" tattooed on his neck. Ask him what he means by the word "loyalty". He said: "I am loyal to my team and loyal to my family."

In fact, if Iverson were to take off all his clothes, we would find that he was covered in body There are as many as 20 places, some with patterns and some with English. Even the little fingers are not spared. If you can "literate", you can "literate". ah! On his body, another Chinese character "Yang" was found, tattooed on the wrist of his right hand. He also had an interpretation of this character "Yang": he believed in himself.

Ask him why he likes Chinese character tattoos? He answered simply: "Because I like myself like this." If the NBA really wants to hold a "tattoo" ranking, he must be an "elite" who is "fluent in both Chinese and English" and has artistic talent.

Jim Jackson, a former teammate of Yao Ming who loved Chinese culture. When he has free time, Jackson may have a chat with Yao Ming. Jackson was really not very good at playing basketball before, but he did a good job with the "article" of tattoos. He had a string of Chinese characters tattooed on his body: "He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is wise." (from Laozi's morals Chapter 33), foreigners can't understand it, but the Chinese people can't help but give him a thumbs up when they see him: "This is a learned player, a kid can be taught!"

Although Jackson His tattoos are well hidden and cannot be seen in ordinary photos. However, when the official NBA website introduced his life story and basketball career, they also recorded this fact. This shows that his tattoos are really attracting attention!

Nets forward Kenyon Martin has the four Chinese characters "worrying about gains and losses" written on the inside of his left forearm. As soon as he dunks, people will immediately see "worrying about gains and losses." He said that this tattoo is to warn him never to be satisfied with the status quo. By the end of his career, he can face himself, his family and the fans with pride. But is this what "worrying about gains and losses" means? He was probably deceived by the tattoo master who was "worried about gains and losses" and described his uneasy mood as "never satisfied".

There are countless tattoos with non-Chinese characters:

For many people, the name Dennis Rodman evokes more than just a picture of a basketball player. The image, it recalls, is more of colorful hair and lurid tattoos. His arms are covered with a shark jumping across the sun, an unclosed "8", Egyptian hieroglyphs, the moon, dice, the head of his daughter Alex, a series of numbers, and even his favorite old man. Coach Chuck Daly's home phone number... In addition to vowing to run naked on the court, Rodman also had another goal, which was to have tattoos all over his body before he died.

Ten years ago, Rodman was the only NBA player with a tattoo worth mentioning. Now, almost 70% of players in the league have tattoos, and even tattoos have been replaced by the more fashionable term "body art."

NBA players are not the only athletes who use ink and silver needles to mark their bodies. There are also tattoo enthusiasts in other sports, but NBA jerseys are the most convenient for displaying these carefully designed patterns. Players today choose tattoos like they choose hairstyles. Camby has his initials tattooed on his arms. Pippen has tiny tattoos on his biceps and legs. Michael Jordan has a horseshoe-shaped fraternity mark. Shaquille O'Neal On his left shoulder is the logo of the American comic book hero Superman, while on Ben Wallace's right arm is the British symbol Big Ben. However, Wallace is also a fan of animated characters, and he actually has it on his body despite his fierce appearance. The two villains Taz (characters in Warner Animation's Bugs Bunny) are engraved.

But the game is so fast that it’s hard to spot even the most obvious tattoos on the field, and many interesting tattoos are hidden under jerseys or socks.

Some players, like Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant (sic, Kobe Bryant now has tattoos) do not have tattoos. Some fans think that some "old-fashioned" or modest players also get tattoos unexpectedly. Malone has a bison pattern, while Weber is a bulldog. Pollard has the craziest tattoo - Son of Poison, which makes people wonder about its meaning. As for retired Navy Captain David Robinson, although he does not have any tattoos, a fan in New Mexico carved his full-length image on his back.

On the left arm of Nets power forward Martin is: "Only God knows the future, and I am willing to move forward according to God's will." On the right bicep is his son's cute smiling face, with the words "To Meat nourishes flesh, and blood nourishes blood.” Under the right shoulder is the name of Martin's mother Lydia, and on the lower arm of the left hand are four Chinese characters for "worry about gain and loss", but Martin understood it as "never satisfied".

Iverson is not only on the court, but his tattoos are also fully qualified to be elected MVP in the NBA - there are more than two dozen tattoos on his body, some you can see, and more you can't.

Why does Iverson have the word "CT" tattooed on his neck? What does Chris Webber have tattooed on his chest? Where's Karl Malone's leg? What does the pattern painted all over Marbury's body mean? Why does Shaquille O'Neal, who dreams of becoming a police officer, have "Agaist the law" engraved on his body? Why...

At least 35% of NBA players have tattoos. Do you know the secrets that happen to their bodies? As a crazy NBA fan, no one will tolerate his ignorance in this regard. What to do next? Andrew Gottlieb's new book "The Art of the Body: NBA Tattoos Revealed" is undoubtedly the best choice. This 112-page new book shows the skin of NBA stars in front of readers in the clearest way, and describes the tattoo stories in the most detail. Players such as O'Neal, Iverson, Bibi, Webber, Rose, Christie, Martin, etc. are all in the book. , which displays artwork on their bodies.

Kobe was once an outlier. He said that he was not suitable for tattoos and did not need them. However, the sexual harassment case this summer made the confident Kobe change. In order to save his love, he gave his wife a tattoo. A $4 million diamond ring and tattoos of mother and daughter’s names.

Many NBA players like tattoos. Sports psychologists analyze that there are two main reasons why tattoos are so popular. Athletes generally want to be recognized and familiar to the public. At the same time, many people I believe that tattoos can express yourself and your personality.

Rose has "Nothing To Lose" engraved on his left arm and the "5" number on his jersey. These tattoos seem to be his battle clarion call. "They allow me to go out and do my best to play the basketball game I love and support my family." On his right arm, there is a statue of Jesus, as well as "SeekTheTruth" and "SeekTheTruth". With religious language like "Salvation", the tattoo on his right arm represents his spiritual side more than the left arm.

The German anthropologist Lipps pointed out in "The Origin of Things" that "the significant effect of drawing patterns on the skin is to serve as a psychological weapon to arouse fear in the enemy.

"This may explain Iverson's fearlessness, but the irony is that some villains in the league such as Malik Rose and Kevin Willis do not have tattoos, but some sissies have more ink than a New York There are more times.

Every tattoo has a voice. In addition to fighting spirit, family is also an important factor that affects tattoos. Kobe was once an alternative. He said that he was not suitable for tattoos and did not need them. The sexual harassment case this summer turned the confident Bryant into a regular guy in need, and he now has his daughter's name tattooed on his wrist from his right shoulder to his elbow, with his wife Vinnie underneath. Sal's name is flanked by angel wings. "PsalmXXVII" ("Psalm Chapter 27") is written below the butterfly. Family and religion have become his spiritual pillars.

Family will also become a tattoo. The reason. Spurs forward Malik Rose explained why he doesn’t have a tattoo: “My mother would never allow me to get something like this. In contrast, O'Neal's mother is much more open-minded. While showing off his Superman pattern, O'Neal proudly said: "First of all, I have my own tattoos because I'm allowed to have them. You'd better believe I asked my mother before." . ”

In addition to their mother, their tattoos also had to be approved by the league. In 1999, New York businessman Dakan Abram suddenly wanted to buy a piece of skin from the Trail Blazers’ Wallace for a candy advertisement. . Since the NBA’s official sponsor Nestlé also has a candy business, the league will certainly not allow this to happen. The NBA’s response to this is, “We are not allowed to advertise on jerseys, coaching uniforms and floors. "But Abramovich believes that players' skins really cannot be counted as jerseys. Although this business failed to be concluded in the end, it has served as a reminder to businesses. Perhaps, it won't be long before we can see advertisements on NBA courts.

Of course, there are also players who do not have tattoos, or conservatively speaking, it is difficult for us to find them, that is Jordan, and China’s three major centers...