Ink don’t lie

I noticed something semi-unique about the Thunder a couple months ago – nobody really had tattoos. I was actually willing to guess that Oklahoma City was the most tattoo-less team in the league. Sure you had some guys that were pretty marked up, but the faces of the franchise – Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook – were as clean as Jim Bob Duggar. Maybe it has something to do with their youth. Carmelo Anthony was relatively unmarked when he came into the league. Same with LeBron. Maybe it has something to do with their personalities. They’re just clean-cut, nice young men. Or maybe it has to do with something else.

Look up and down the roster. It’s true. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

(Waiting.)

Whose got the most ink? Robert Swift, Chucky Atkins and Earl Watson. Whose got the least? Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook. Hmm…

All too shocking, eh? I’m not going to go through every team in the league, but I would doubt that this occurs anywhere else. There’s just five guys on the current roster that have any tattoos at all. Is that something Sam Presti scouts when he drafts? Because he’s never drafted a guy with tattoos. Kind of amazing really. You know who else doesn’t have any tattoos? Blake Griffin. Ricky Rubio. James Harden.

Of course, Jeff Green could be sitting down in a chair right as I write this about to get the Eiffel Tower tattooed on his eyelids. In five years, they all may be covered. I don’t know why this phenomenon is happening here, but frankly I like it. I’m not a tattoo guy myself (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and I kind of think it fits our state and city. Plus, evidently the more you have, the more sucky you are at basketball. At least in Oklahoma City.

How long until the draft again?