Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. is a professional basketball player from the United States who currently competes in the National Basketball Association for the NBA. He is a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and plays both the power forward and center positions.

He has been selected to play in the NBA All-Star Game seven times and has been named to the All-NBA First Team and All-NBA Defensive Team three times each. Additionally, he was a part of the United States National Team that took home the gold medal at the Olympics in 2012. Between the years of 2012 and 2019, he was a member of the New Orleans Hornets and Pelicans.

The Los Angeles Lakers became his new team in 2019, after signing him to a contract. Anthony Davis is covered in a number of unique tattoos all over his body. He is a firm believer that every tattoo should represent a meaningful memory or experience, and he has covered his entire body with them. The majority of his tattoos are tributes to members of his family or other significant persons in his life. Let’s examine the tattoos he has on his body as well as the significance of the designs they represent.

1. ‘Mamba’  Tattoo

Tattoo:  Anthony’s right thigh contains a tattoo of a black mamba snake coiled up around a logo of a shield.

The logo symbolizes a sword that is concealed behind a sheath, and it was designed by the late Kobe Bryant, who passed away not too long ago. Kobe has a saying that goes something like this: “The sword is the undeveloped talent that lies dormant within a person, and the sheath is the effort that a person puts forth to develop his talent.” Kobe Bryant was dubbed “the black mamba” during his time in the NBA. Anthony got this tattoo as a way to honor the great Kobe by paying homage to him.

2. Portrait Tattoo

Tattoo:  The right shoulder of the All-Star contains a tattoo of a portrait of an old man with the words, “REST UP” tattooed above him and the word, “Champ” tattooed below the portrait.

Meaning:  This tattoo also holds a special meaning in Anthony’s life. The man in the portrait is Lamont Eberhardt, who is Anthony’s maternal grandfather. Lamont passed away in 2010 but was a mentor to Anthony who looked up to him. The words put together form the sentence, “Rest Up Champ” which was Anthony’s way of paying his regards to his mentor as he always used to address Davis as Champ. While talking about Lamont, Davis said, “I looked up to him. Every day I would go to his house and we would just talk basketball. He always pushed me. He always talked about Kobe, Kobe, Kobe. He always wanted to make me go out there and I don’t want to say be better but do some of the same things that he did.”

3. ‘Chicago’ Tattoo

Tattoo:  Anthony’s right bicep contains a tattoo of the word, “Chicago” along with the number, 1993 tattooed right below the word but in a smaller size.

Meaning:  Anthony Davis was born on 11 March 1993 in the city of Chicago. The tattoo represents the city he was born in along with the year of his birth. When talking about the tattoo, Davis said, “I got it because I love my city and where I’m from, knowing that I wouldn’t be where I am without the city of Chicago”

4. Baby Girl Tattoo

Tattoo:  The inner side of his left forearm is covered by a large tattoo of a small baby girl, with two rose flowers tattooed above her head.

Meaning:  This is also a very special tattoo for Anthony as it is a tattoo of his daughter, Nala Davis. Anthony got this tattoo to show his love for his daughter with his girlfriend, Brittney.

5. Initials Tattoo

Tattoo:  The inner side of his right wrist contains a tattoo of the initials, “A D” on it.

Meaning:  While most people would think that the initials stand for his own name, they could not be farther away from the truth. The initials do stand for the name, Anthony Davis but the tattoo is actually a tribute to his father, Anthony Davis Sr.

6. Cross Tattoo

Tattoo:  The inner side of Anthony’s right forearm contains a tattoo of a cross.

Meaning:  The letters, “RIP” standing for Rest In Peace are also tattooed above the cross and the tattoo was done to pay his regards to a loved one.

7.  ‘Stars, Doves, and Name’ Tattoos

Tattoo:  All of Anthony’s right forearm is covered in tattoos of stars along with doves at different places that complete his sleeve tattoos. The outer side of his right forearm, starting from his wrist and moving upwards towards his elbow contains the letters, “N, A, L, and A” tattooed on it with a little crown over the N.

Meaning:  The letters together spell out the name of his daughter, Nala whom he adores very much.

8. Leg Tattoo

Tattoo:  The right side of his lower right leg contains another large tattoo. The tattoo has rarely been seen and is hard to make out as Anthony keeps his legs covered even in games by wearing leg sleeves.