Tattoo tales, Part I: For inspiration, Hornets turn to family, friends and home (2024)

It’s a painful memory Cody Martin can never forget, one of those moments suspended in time that doesn’t seem real even to this day.

Fresh off his sophom*ore year of high school in Mocksville, N.C., and eagerly playing with his AAU team during those summer months, Martin’s world turned upside down upon receiving a heart-stopping message. He was shaken to the core after hearing the unsettling news, almost unable to process it all.

“I think we were on the way from practice one day and my mom or somebody or our AAU coach had texted us or something like that and I thought it was fake,” the Hornets forward said. “It was tough. It was tough, because he was one of our best friends and we loved him and his family.”

Josh Level had died and Martin and his twin brother, Caleb, were devastated.

“He was playing basketball and he had an enlarged heart and passed away on the court,” Martin said. “Just passed out and I don’t think there was a paramedic or anything like that on site. So, by the time he got there, he passed away.”

Knowing the bond they had is never truly going to foster itself in the fashion he forever hoped, Martin figured one day he just had to memorialize his buddy somehow. So he elected to do it in a permanent fashion.

He got a tattoo.

It features Level’s jersey number, which was 24, and has a guardian angel looking over him. Their special connection came via the very thing Martin gets paid to do for a living now.

“Man, we played a summer of basketball with him and he ended up being one of our best friends,” Martin said. “Just him as a person and his family just meant a lot to us. We hung out with him and we always were in the hotel with each other. He was our best friend and it was crazy because during that summer, he came to my older brother (Raheem)’s game and we were talking about how we were going to do all this stuff this summer. We were going to chill and do all this stuff and that happened.

“It just sucked man. It just really sucked. He was a good person and, man, you are talking about a motor? Motor. When he was on the court, he did not play around. He played hard. He was about 6-(foot)-7, big hands, good frame, athletic. He could play.”

Martin’s tattoo, celebrating Level’s life, is one of two he possesses. The initial art is on his left forearm, a quote that reminds himself when times get tough. He was 20 years old when he made that first trek to the parlor, getting it done just prior to him and his brother heading off to play at Nevada after transferring from NC State.

In part, he waited that long because of the general perception and hope that he wouldn’t be viewed as something he isn’t. With his rural upbringing, he thought it was prudent to try his best to avoid the unfortunate stereotypes that sometimes accompany people with several visible tattoos.

“For sure,” Martin said. “Especially it was a big difference for me because I grew up in a small town in North Carolina and if you got stuff like that, you know how people would look at it. It just was kind of frowned upon. You kind of had to hide them. And then when I went to Nevada, it was the complete opposite. Everyone has tattoos. Face, neck tattoos. And it was just a little bit different because honestly, I look at it as a way to express yourself with anything. Even the smallest things — people get different haircuts, different color.

“It’s just a way to express yourself and honestly, it’s what means a lot to you. Whether it’s people, whether it’s quotes, whether it’s animals, whatever the case is. That’s just a way to express yourself. And honestly, you ask people about their tattoos and it’s common thoughts that they have every single day. The stuff that they carry with them all the time and I don’t see nothing wrong with it.”

To get a better understanding of the inspiration behind some of their tattoos, The Athletic spoke with several of Martin’s teammates just before the NBA suspended its season last Wednesday night because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this first installment along with Martin, Devonte’ Graham, Miles Bridges and Willy Hernangomez explain the significance of their body art.

Devonte’ Graham

Graham didn’t hit up the tattoo parlor until summer 2014. By then, he finally had the blessings of his mother, Dewanna King, and she was on board with him etching something on his body.

He was 19, after all.

“She was for it,” Graham said. “I wanted one in high school. She told me no. She told me I couldn’t until I knew what college I was going to. So, once I figured I was going to Kansas, I had actually went to summer school and all that, came home and got it.”

The “it” is the skyline of Graham’s beloved hometown, two hours north of where he’s currently making a name for himself: Raleigh. Accompanying artwork above the buildings is the word “Believe.”

Why? It’s simple.

“Just my city,” Graham said. “I love it. I love where I’m from and my biggest thing for me is always believe. Believe in yourself, believe in what you want to accomplish, whether it’s a sport or not. So, that’s my motto.”

Graham has a few others on his chest, which is mostly covered. One spells out ‘blessed’ over his ribs. But there is one that sticks out to him slightly more than the rest.

“This one, the top of my chest, I would say means the most to me,” he said, pulling down his shirt and pointing to it. “‘Forever grateful.’ Because this is about my family. It says ‘forever grateful.’ And it says, ‘The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing.’ I’ve got my mom, my sister and my grandma in hearts. So those are my girls and obviously they mean the most to me.”

That is why he permanently had them etched into his skin, even though you may not be aware of it if you have met him.

“Mine are hidden,” Graham said. “So if you didn’t know me, you wouldn’t know I have tattoos. If you just see me out, you wouldn’t know that I have tattoos. I just did mine for them. I wanted them to always be with me no matter where I go. And just stuff that I really truly like.”

Like his teammates and other friends who have tattoos, Graham is thankful attitudes toward them have changed compared to years ago, when it might have been taboo and some automatically thought the worst of an individual. Although the days of some people assuming a tattoo equates to a “thug” or “bad guy” aren’t over, there is more acceptance now.

“I feel like people can still view you as that,” he said. “But I feel like today’s society, there’s so much going on. People are a lot more open-minded to things. So you are not categorized as being that hood, thug person. People know you express yourself in all different types of ways. So I feel like people are more open to it.”

Miles Bridges

As someone who really loved the game in his youth, Bridges’ decision to get body ink was born out of seeing some of the NBA’s top stars expressing themselves.

“I grew up watching Allen Iverson, LeBron James,” Bridges said. “Of course, those guys are tatted. For us to have stuff on our body that represents us without us even saying anything, I feel like that’s a big thing in this league.”

When figuring out exactly what he would go with as his initial design, Bridges thought about constant motivation from a higher power. He elected to get the words of Isaiah 54:17 imprinted on his left forearm. The message extends all the way down to his wrist, ensuring the natural lefty can’t miss it while doing his thing on the court or off it.

“It’s my favorite Bible verse,” Bridges said. “‘No weapon formed against thee shall prosper.’ And I used that in everyday life. So that’s why I got that as my first tat.”

However, the one that endears him most? Those huge five letters spelling out his Michigan stomping grounds.

“The one on my back, the Flint tattoo, it took four hours,” he said. “But yeah, I plan on getting more. But right now the Flint one is my favorite one. It’s the most creative one. I still have a lot more decorating to do to it. But the Flint one is my favorite one.”

Willy Hernangomez

Flashback nearly nine years ago in Spain. Picture Hernangomez, 18, popping through the door and essentially playing show-and-tell with his mother, Margarita.

Except it wasn’t the same as, oh say, a slimy frog.

“I remember it was summertime and when I come back home to my house, I showed my tattoo to my mom,” Hernangomez said. “And she was like, ‘You better clean that.’ She was thinking it might be one of those fake tattoos that you put with water and it goes away in 20 days. But I’m like, ‘Mom, no, this time it’s real.’ So she was mad at me at the beginning. But she got used to it. She was OK.”

Partially because of what Hernangomez had inked on his wrist (see photo below).

“It means ‘family’ in Arabic,” he said.

Highlighting the affection he has for his closest loved ones really provides a peek through the window of Hernangomez’s life. A look at the interaction he has with his brother, Juancho, whenever their teams play is merely a microcosm of the ultra-close bond he has with him.

“The most important thing for me is my family,” Hernangomez said. “Most of my tattoos mean something about my family. At the beginning, I wanted something small. Nothing crazy. But like they say, once you start, you get addicted to the tattoo, to the ink, and you cannot stop. But obviously, I love tattoos. It’s been two years now with me not doing nothing. Hopefully, my next one will be ‘Tokyo 2020’ for the Olympics. I got one in Rio 2016. So, it’s kind of a tradition right now. So, I don’t know. You never know.”

Just don’t ask him which one is his favorite.

“I’ve got too many,” Hernangomez said. “I’ve got a lot. But obviously, I think my sleeve. My arm sleeve, everything it means is about my family, my grandparents, I really love them and I miss them, how together, how close my family is and how we are happy. I think that is the key to get through the difficult times and enjoy the good times. And my family means everything for me and my brother. So, I just love to see them every day even though they are far.”

His appreciation for all his body art has grown with each one and he’s pleased it’s something he can do without feeling as if he’ll be tagged as something he’s not prior to someone even meeting him. Experiencing acceptance has spurred Hernangomez to be himself and give his body its own voice.

“I think that is part of the new culture for us,” Hernangomez said. “Before they were thinking, ‘This guy is a bad guy or coming from jail or whatever.’ I think right now everybody at least has one, especially the young guys. I think it’s having more of an open mind. Don’t judge somebody if you don’t know him, right? And there’s things we are getting better at on that and tattoos are part of our life right now.”

(Top photo of Devonte’ Graham: Courtesy of Devonte’ Graham)