Knicks and their Ink
A couple of months ago we started a new test segment highlighting Delon Wright’s ink. The concept got a great response, and we decided to instill it into a new weekly segment but wait until the off-season to fully introduce it.
We’re not going to just stick with the current Knicks. We’re going to go all the way back in time through Knickstory and the Knicks tattoo vault. Of course, there are the obvious names like J.R. Smith, and Carmelo Anthony that we will get to, but there is also plenty of art adorned by dozens of Knicks players throughout franchise history.
To kick things off, we’re starting with the man who helped popularize Chinese symbol tattoos in the NBA: Marcus Camby.
Marcus Camby might not be the most tattooed player in Knicks history, but he holds a unique place in NBA lore. He was the first player in NBA history to prominently feature Chinese symbol tattoos that carried personal meaning, helping spark a trend that swept through the league and tattoo parlors nationwide in the early 2000s. Not everyone got exactly what they bargained for (just ask Shawn Marion), but Camby’s bold ink on his right shoulder and bicep remains one of the most iconic examples of the trend to this day.
Those weren’t Camby’s first tattoos, however. While still a student at UMass, Camby added his first tattoo of a basketball going through a hoop with the words “MR. CAMBY” below the net on his left shoulder. This tattoo stayed his only one through his first two seasons in the league before joining the Knicks in 1998.
When Marcus Camby made his Knicks debut during the shortened 1999 lockout season, fans were immediately struck by his new ink. It wasn’t just Knicks fans Knicks who were stunned, but basketball fans world wide were taken aback by the never-before-seen big bold Chinese symbols on Camby’s right arm.
The top symbol on Camby’s right shoulder “translates” to “Strive to be the best,” while the one below it reads “I love my family.” Camby once shared that his inspiration for the tattoos came from his love of Chinese kung-fu movies. For him, the symbols served as daily reminders to always strive for greatness and the other of his unconditional love for his family.
Photo by Steven Freeman /NBAE via Getty Images
Although Camby has shared the intended meanings behind his tattoos, over the years various stories have surfaced claiming otherwise. Apparently, each tattoo contains at least one correctly translated Chinese word. However, according to multiple translators over the years, when the symbols are combined, the full phrases Camby intended for, do not translate cleanly when put together in Chinese, and they actually translate into Chinese gibberish.
In 2001, Camby added his first name above his first tattoo in an old-school English font, as well as three more additional, yet much smaller Chinese symbols down his left forearm.
Photo by Steven Freeman /NBAE via Getty Images
After Camby departed from the Knicks via a draft day trade with the Denver Nuggets, Camby added a portrait of an infant to his right forearm.
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
During his later years in Denver, Camby added another Chinese symbol on the bottom of his right wrist, with the name “MILAN” on the top side of that same wrist, and the name “MAYA” in the same spot on the opposite left wrist, for his two daughters.
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
All in all, by the time Marcus retired as a member of the Knicks in 2012, he finished his playing career with eleven visible tattoos, four on his right arm, and seven on his left. Ten of which were added over the span of a very lengthy 17-year career.
Photo by Ray Amati/NBAE via Getty Images