Iman Asante Shumpert is an American professional basketball player who played as a shooting guard in the NBA (National Basketball Association), last for the Houston Rockets. He has also represented the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Sacramento Kings. Iman Shumpert has many interesting tattoos on his body. Let us take a look at them and the meanings behind them.

Arm Tattoos

1. ‘Respect, Arrows, and Jesus’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The left forearm of the basketball player contains the word, ‘Respect’ tattooed on it. Just below the tattoo of the word is a tattoo of two arrows, pointing towards opposite directions joined near the tails. The right forearm of Iman contains a tattoo of Jesus Christ.

Meaning: The Jesus Christ tattoo represents his religious views. In an interview, he said,

I got the tattoo of Black Jesus walking through snakes, just to remind myself that even in your purest form, you still going to have to walk through some evil shit.”

2. ‘Basketball, Dice, and Stars’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The right shoulder of the NBA star contains a large tattoo of a basketball with the words, “Just happen to love it” tattooed below it. His right upper arm also contains a tattoo of a pair of red dice showing up the numbers 5 and 2. Below the dice are the tattoos of stars in a flaming background to complete his arm.

Meaning: The basketball tattoo represents his career choice as he just loved basketball and happened on this career path since college. Basketball tattoo is one of the oldest tattoos that he got inked in life. In an interview with GQ in 2020, he said,

With my tattoos, the real story and inspiration behind are to make the dream world meet the money. I knew that I wanted the worlds to come together at the end, which is why you will see this smoky, dreamy, consistency going to this side. Real dreamy stars. They speak on the concept of reaching for the stars. You will see the dice and cards on the flash. You will see the dice on seven just to let you know to always take your chances and better yourself.”

3. ‘Likeness, Cash, and Coins’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The left forearm of the player, just below his arrow tattoos contains the word, Likeness tattooed on it. The upper side of his forearm, around his elbow and wrist, contains tattoos of coins and dollar bills spilling across his arm.

4. ‘Wings and Flowers’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The left forearm of the basketball player is covered in floral designs. His left hand contains a tattoo of a small basketball. His right upper arm, just above his dice tattoo contains another tattoo of a basketball with wings. His left shoulder also contains the same star tattoos on a background of flames which complete all of his arm tattoos and binds them together.

Meaning: All these tattoos represent how much love he has for the sport he plays and that is why he deserves everything that he has.

5. Bicep Tattoos

Tattoo: Iman’s right bicep contains the letters, “TNA” tattooed on it vertically. His left bicep contains the letters, “TRUTH” tattooed on it. His right arm, just where his elbow folds contain the number, 88 tattooed on it right next to the letters, LNBZ.

Meaning: The word together spells out Truth which is one of the things he truly believes in. Speaking the truth.

6. Portrait Tattoos

Tattoo: The inner side of Iman’s left forearm contains a tattoo of the portrait of the backside of a man’s head while he is looking at a basketball. The inner side of his elbow, where it folds contains a tattoo of the portrait of a man kissing a child.

Meaning: The portraits are of Iman himself. The first one shows his love for basketball and the second one is a tattoo of him and his daughter, Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. whom he adores very much.

7. ‘Paw, Floral design, and Tree’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The left arm of the NBA star contains a tattoo of a cartoon character just near his elbow. His upper arm is covered in tattoo of floral design and a tree on his shoulder. His left arm also contains a tattoo of a heart with a spiraling vine in front of it.

Meaning: The cartoon character is actually Johnny Bravo which is one of Shumpert’s favorites since childhood. The tattoos represent Chicago’s green line which is the city Iman grew up in.

8. ‘Dream and Bill’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The outer side of his right arm, below his elbow, contains the word, Dream tattooed on it in bold in red ink. His left wrist also contains a tattoo of half of a hundred dollar bill.

Meaning: In an interview in 2020 he explained the reason for getting the word ‘DREAM’ inked on his arm. He said,

I got the word dream right here just you know a word that I love to look at on a day to day.”

9. Batman Tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Batman’ tattoo on his right arm.

Meaning: This is the cover-up tattoo that he got inked to cover the previous one. He said,

Batman tattoo is actually a cover-up for something that, you know when you were a kid and you want to just rap something and covered that all up.”

Chest Tattoos

10. ‘Jersey and Number’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The middle part of his chest contains a tattoo of a jersey with the number 9 on it. Below the jersey is the number 90 tattooed in bold.

Meaning: The number 9 jersey is the one he wore for the Sacramento Kings. The 90 refers to his year of birth, 1990.

11. ‘Boombox’ Tattoo

Tattoo: The left pec of the NBA star contains a tattoo of a boombox with graffiti designs done in its background.

12. ‘Names and Quote’ Tattoos

Tattoo: The left side of his upper chest contains the name, “Auntie Carolyn” tattooed on it. Similarly, the right side of his upper chest contains a tattoo of the name, “Lynnie” The middle of his chest contains a quote going from left to right across his chest which reads, “I’m My Brother’s Keeper”

13. Portrait on Right Pec

Tattoo: Iman’s right pec contains a tattoo of a portrait of the face of a little girl beside a toy doll.

Meaning: The portrait is actually a portrait of his daughter, Iman Tayle Shumpert Jr. whom he loves a lot.

Side Tattoo

14. ‘Boy’ Tattoo

Tattoo: The left side of his body contains a tattoo of a boy trying to look over a brick wall, holding a telescope. Behind the wall is a scenery of a bridge and the city of Chicago.