Allen Ezail Iverson is an American former professional basketball player who had played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Allen is considered the most prolific scorer in NBA history. Apart from his successful basketball career, he has gained wide popularity because of his body inks which are dedicated to the people and things close to him. Let’s read further to know more details regarding his tattoos along with their meanings.
1. ‘RA Boogie’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘RA Boogie’ Tattoo on the right side of his neck.
Meaning: Allen Iverson got this tattoo inked as a tribute to his childhood friend Rahsaan, who was fatally shot in Hampton, Virginia. Rahsaan is also the name of Allen’s son.
2. ‘Loyalty’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Loyalty’ Tattoo on the right side of his neck.
Meaning: Allen Iverson got the word ‘loyalty’ inked in Chinese language on the right side of his neck, just below his ‘RA Boogie’ tattoo.
3. ‘HOLD MY OWN’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘HOLD MY OWN’ Tattoo on his right shoulder.
Meaning: This tattoo explains the perspective of Allen’s life. This tattoo depicts ‘To always look for opportunities but stay grounded, and to standstill during any difficulties of life.’
4. ‘MONEY BAGZ’ Tattoo
‘MONEY BAGZ’ Tattoo on his left hand.
5. ‘Virginia Slim’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Virginia Slim’ Tattoo on the left side of his neck.
Meaning: Allen has got a spiderweb inked on the left side of his neck with the words ‘Virginia Slim’ written above it. It can be related to the place of Virginia in the USA, where Allen was born on June 7, 1975, or the American brand of cigarettes called ‘Virginia Slims’. No more clear piece of information regarding this tattoo is available.
6. ‘Rahsaan’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Rahsaan’ Tattoo on his left arm.
Meaning: Allen has got the middle name of his son inked on his left arm. His son’s full name is ‘Isaiah Rahsaan Iverson.’
7. ‘CRU THIK’ Tattoo
‘CRU THIK’ Tattoo on his left arm.
‘CRU THIK’ Tattoo on his right arm.
‘CRU THIK’ Tattoo on his right leg.
‘CT’ Tattoo on the left side of his neck.
Tattoo: ‘CRU THIK’ Tattoo on his left arm, right arm, right leg, and initials ‘CT’ on the left side of his neck.
Meaning: CRU THIK is the name of Allen’s record company. In an interview, he said,
I got ‘CRU THIK’ in four places—that’s my crew, that’s what we call ourselves, me and the guys I grew up with, the guys I’m loyal to.”
8. ‘NBN’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘NBN’ Tattoo on his left forearm.
Meaning: ‘NBN’ means Newport Bad News. It’s the name of Newport News, Virginia. In an interview, Allen said,
Here, on my left forearm, it says ‘NBN’—for ‘Newport Bad News.’ That’s what we call our hometown of Newport News, Virginia because a lot of bad shit happens there.”
9. ‘Soldier Skull’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Soldier Skull’ Tattoo on his right arm.
Meaning: In an interview, Allen said,
I got a soldier’s head. I feel like my life has been a war and I’m a soldier in it.”
10. ‘SOLDIER’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘SOLDIER’ Tattoo on his right arm.
Meaning: Just below the ‘screaming skull’ tattoo, the word ‘SOLDIER’ is inked. Regarding this tattoo, Allen said,
I got a soldier’s head. I feel like my life has been a war and I’m a soldier in it.”
11. ‘Tawanna’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Tawanna’ Tattoo on the right side of his stomach.
Meaning: Tawanna is the name of Allen Iverson’s ex-wife. The couple got legally separated in January 2013. Allen got this tattoo inked on the right side of his stomach when they were living happily together.
12. ‘Mother and Grandmother Initials’ Tattoo
‘Mother and Grandmother Initials’ Tattoo on the left side of his chest.
13. ‘Praying Hands’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Praying Hands’ Tattoo on the left side of his chest.
Meaning: The ‘Praying Hands’ tattoo is inked in between the ‘mother and grandmother initials’ tattoo. In an interview, Allen said,
A set of praying hands between my grandma’s initials—she died when I was real young—and my mom’s initials. I put shit on my body that means something to me.”
14. ‘Tiaura and Deuce’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Tiaura and Deuce’ Tattoo on the right side of his chest.
Meaning: Tiaura is the name of Allen’s daughter. Deuce is the other name of Allen’s son, Allen Iverson II.
15. ‘JEWELZ’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘JEWELZ’ Tattoo on his right forearm.
Meaning: ‘JEWELZ’ is the moniker of Allen Iverson as a rap artist.
16. ‘Screaming Skull’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Screaming Skull’ Tattoo on his left forearm.
Meaning: Along with this ‘screaming skull’ tattoo, the words ‘Fear No One’ is inked. In an interview, Allen said,
I got one that says ‘Fear No One,’ a screaming skull with a red line through it—’cause you’ll never catch me looking scared.”
17. ‘Fear No One’ Tattoo
‘Fear No One’ tattoo on his left forearm.
18. ‘Grim Reaper’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Grim Reaper’ Tattoo on his right forearm.
Meaning: Earlier, Allen had ‘Grim Reaper holding a basketball’ tattoo on his right forearm. Later, he got that tattoo-covered with a ‘black panther’ tattoo. Once in an interview, Allen was asked about his favorite tattoo(s), to which he replied,
I can say, my kids, my mom, my grandma, my girl. And then everything else, I love those, too, because they all mean something.”
He further said,
Except this one right here. This was to cover up some — my friend Rahsaan used to tease me about a tattoo I had right here. But it was so big, and what he was teasing me about, he said it looked like a flying monkey. It’s supposed to have been a Grim Reaper holding a ball, but it did look like a monkey. But he was teasing me so much, I just covered it with the panther. I had to, I mean it had to be something big, so this is really the only one that don’t mean anything. This was just a cover-up.”
Allen got his ‘Grim Reaper’ tattoo covered with the ‘Black Panther’ Tattoo
19. ‘Black Panther’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Black Panther’ Tattoo on his right forearm.
Meaning: The ‘Black Panther’ tattoo represents courage, strength, powers, and fearless nature of the person. Allen got this tattoo inked just to cover his old ‘Grim Reaper’ tattoo.
20. ‘Cross of Daggers and Only The Strong Survive’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Cross of Dagger and Only The Strong Survive’ Tattoo on his left shoulder.
Meaning: Generally, cross tattoos are the symbol of spirituality and religion. In an interview, Allen was asked about his body tats, to which he replied,
I got a cross of daggers knitted together that says ‘ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE,’ because that’s the one true thing I’ve learned in this life.”
21. ‘FAME’ Tattoo
‘FAME- F@#!? ALL MY ENEMIES’ Tattoo on the right side of his back.
22. ‘THE REALIST’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘THE REALIST’ Tattoo on the left side of his back.
Meaning: A realist person is very practical, who uses the real facts and reasons rather than hopeful things to predict the future. Along with this tattoo, a pattern of stars is also inked.
Allen Iverson while getting his ‘THE REALIST’ Tattoo inked on his back.
23. ‘EAST END’ Tattoo
‘EAST END’ Tattoo on his left leg.
24. ‘Bundle of Currency Notes’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Bundle of Currency Notes’ Tattoo on his right hand.
Meaning: ‘Bundle of Currency Notes’ along with the letter ‘A’ is inked on the right hand of Allen Iverson.
25. ‘TI’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘TI’ Tattoo on the ring finger of his left hand.
Meaning: This tattoo is the acronym of the name of Allen’s daughter, Tiaura Iverson.
26. ‘SEE YOU WHEN I GET THERE’ Tattoo
‘SEE YOU WHEN I GET THERE’ Tattoo on his left arm.
27. ‘BAD NEWZ’ Tattoo
‘BAD NEWZ’ Tattoo on his right forearm.
28. ‘Finest’ Tattoo
‘Finest’ Tattoo on his right forearm.
29. ‘Growling Bulldog’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Growling Bulldog’ Tattoo on his left arm.
Meaning: Growling Bulldog is the symbol of strength, toughness, courage, and determination. This is the first tattoo which Allen got inked before he went to Georgetown. Along with this tattoo, he has got inked his nickname ‘THE ANSWER’ just above the growling bulldog tattoo.
30. ‘THE ANSWER !’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘THE ANSWER !’ Tattoo on his left arm.
Meaning: ‘The Answer’ is the nickname of Allen. There are several rumors about how he got this name. Some believed that when Allen left Georgetown University basketball team and joined Philadelphia 76ers, the young players were asked to give themselves nicknames; so that they get well known among their fans. So, Allen selected ‘The Answer’ as his nickname. While some said Philadelphia used to question the capabilities of Allen because of his poor background and relatively small stature of 183 centimeters. However, they all were shocked to see the powerful performance of Allen and named him ‘The Answer.’
Still, there is no confirmation regarding how Allen got his nickname.
31. ‘Unidentified’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘Unidentified’ Tattoo on his right forearm.
Meaning: Some unidentified words in the Arabic language are inked on the right forearm of Allen.
32. ‘Tribal’ Tattoo
‘Tribal’ Tattoo on his left arm.
33. ‘CT’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘CT’ Tattoo on the left side of his neck.
Meaning: ‘CT’ refers to ‘CRU THIK’ which is the record company of Allen.
34. ‘Respect’ Tattoo
No picture is available.
Tattoo: ‘Respect’ Tattoo on right arm.
Meaning: Regarding this tattoo Allen said,
I got the Chinese symbol for respect because I feel that where I come from deserves respect—being from there, surviving from there, and staying true to everybody back there.”
35. ‘DYNASTY RADAZ’ Tattoo
‘DYNASTY RADAZ’ Tattoo on his left forearm.
Tribal Tattoo on his left arm is Tibetan wording meaning power