In our #TattooTuesday series we scour fandom to highlight the most-impressive tattoos celebrating a particular team from one of the big-five sports — basketball, baseball, football, hockey and soccer.
Few acts show one’s commitment to a particular sports team as getting a tattoo of their logo or one of the franchise’s star players. This week we head to the sun-splashed beaches of Southern California to look at the best-of-the-best Lakers fans’ ink from Los Angeles and beyond.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS TATTOOS
In the above video, SullenTV and Stencil Stuff present a time-lapsed tattoo of a Kobe Bryant tattoo executed by New Zealander Steve Butcher. What follows are some of best Lakers-themed tattoos proving each recipient’s diehard allegiance to Showtime.
MAMBA OUT
After Bryant’s untimely death in a helicopter accident, two current Laker stars got tattoos paying tribute to the franchise’s most iconic player. LeBron James went with a Mamba 4 Life tattoo featuring the highly-venomous black mamba snake encircling Bryant’s jersey numbers.
Anthony Davis opted for Bryant’s logo with a black mamba coiled around.
KOBE DUNKING
We continue the list with another Bryant offering from Butcher. This one features a photographic-quality rendering of the Black Mamba’s dunk over Dwight Howard.
THAT LAKERS DUDE
A Lakers superfan going by the handle @ThatLakersDude on Instagram has built up a three part sleeve tattoo that started with Bryant’s likeness on his shoulder…
… followed by one of the Lakers NBA championship rings…
… and completed with the franchise’s logo framed by palm trees.
PURPLE AND GOLD LAKERS SKULL
This baseball-cap wearing Lakers skull rendered in purple and gold is worthy of inclusion in Gray’s Anatomy or at an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
LAKERS MINION
Given the yellow complexion of minions and the fact they wear goggles a la Kareem Abdul Jabbar, it should come as no surprise that they’re Lakers fans through and through.
JERRY WEST TATTOO
If Jerry West is good enough to serve as the silhouette in the NBA’s logo, he’s certainly good enough for an arm tattoo. If you’re a Lakers fan living in Wisconsin, and want ink like that shown above, you’re in luck. The artist, Alexi Stankowski, works out of The Seven One Five Tattoo Collective in Wassau.
CONVERSE WEAPON ’86
The Season of 1986-87, Magic Johnson & The Showtime Lakers beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals while rocking these slick kicks.
MAGIC TATTOO
We close as we opened, with yet another nonpareil masterpiece executed by Butcher. This photorealistic tattoo captures Johnson at his prime when he helped lead the Lakers to five championships from 1980 to 1988.
