NBA star Lonzo Ball shows off incredible tattoo sleeve featuring the best of Black history

New Orleans Pelicans star Lonzo Ball’s tattoo sleeve is hella impressive and includes some of the greatest icons of Black history.

Aug 16, 2019
New Orleans Pelicans star Lonzo Ball
New Orleans Pelicans star Lonzo Ball’s tattoo sleeve is hella impressive and includes some of the greatest examples of Black excellence including MLK, Jackie Robinson and a message from Nipsey Hussle (Photo via stevebutchertattoos/IG, @ESPNNBA)

Lonzo Ball can tell you who are some of his greatest heroes without ever even opening his mouth. The New Orleans Pelicans point guard posted a video showing off a detailed tattoo of six notable legends including Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Harriet Tubman and former President Barack Obama.

Although Nipsey Hussle wasn’t among the figures inked on his arm, the business motto “The Marathon Continues” pays homage to the slain rapper and is the message on Ball’s arm above the likeness of the icons.

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“Was an honor to put these influential people on your arm brother,” tattoo artist Steve Butcher said on Instagram about the incredible artwork.

Ball previously said he was following in the footsteps of his brother LiAngelo Ball who already has plenty of tattoos, but when Lonzo decided to get a few, it apparently pissed off their dad, LaVar.

“My brother got a bunch of them, so I didn’t want him to be the only one in the family,” Ball previously told Los Angeles Times. “My dad was pretty mad the first time. I used to have wristbands, but they all snapped off, so I figured I’d put them there permanently.”

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Ball can call on the spirit of his ancestors and some of these civil rights leaders as he fights a case against the former co-founder and manager of his Big Baller Brand, Alan Foster, who Ball is suing for an alleged multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme.

Ball is definitely one of many younger athletes who are finding unconventional ways to show their activism in a highly racial climate on and off the clock.

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