Matt Kelly Barnes is a Retired American Professional Basketball Player. Matt Barnes played for 14 seasons, making his debut in 2002 for Memphis Grizzlies. In his final season in 2017, he won the NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors. Matt Barnes has half of his body filled up with some of the most interesting tattoos you will ever see. Let us take a look at them and the meanings they hold.
1. ‘Rapper and Crown’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The latest of Matt’s tattoos is a portrait tattoo of a rapper, Nipsey Hussle on his left hand. His left hand’s ring finger also contains a tattoo of a crown.
2. ‘Rapper and Finger’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The player’s right hand contains a tattoo of another famous rap artist, Tupac Shakur. His index, middle and ring fingers also contain tattoos of different symbols on them.
3. ‘Faith’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The word, Faith is tattooed on the upper part of Matt’s left wrist.
4. ‘Hope’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Barnes’ right wrist contains the word, Hope tattooed on its upper side.
5. ‘Cross and Quote’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The inner side of the basketball player’s right forearm contains the tattoo of a large cross which is made by broken pieces joined together. The cross is encased in a quote which reads, “Only God Can Judge Me”
6. Leg Tattoo
Tattoo: The front side of Matt’s right leg contains a tattoo of his own right arm, with his fist closed and tattoos of silhouettes of people cheering just below it. There are tattoos of shrubs and coconut trees in the background of his hand on his kneecap.
7. ‘Scroll’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right side of his body is covered in a tattoo of a large scroll with a vine of flowers alongside it. The words, RIP are inked inside the scroll. The left side of his body contains the word, Mother tattooed on it vertically. Both the tattoos together make the words, “RIP Mother”
Meaning: This tattoo was done as a tribute to his mother, Ann Barnes who passed away in 2007 due to cancer.
8. ‘Flames, Spiderweb, and Bicep’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The right wrist of the player is covered in flames which reach a little towards the mid of his forearm. His right elbow is covered in a tattoo of a massive spiderweb design. His bicep contains a retro-style tattoo which reads, 80’s BABY.
Meaning: The 80’s BABY tattoo is a nod to the decade he was born in.
9. ‘Neck’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The right side of Matt’s neck contains a tattoo of two hands joined in prayer with the word, Believe tattooed across them.
10. ‘Tribal Sun and Panther’ Tattoos
Tattoo: Matt’s right shoulder contains a tattoo of the sun done in tribal style and a black panther climbing up on his upper arm, just below the sun.
Meaning: He got a tattoo of a panther as it is his favorite animal.
11. ‘Initials’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Matt’s left forearm contains a large tattoo of the letter, M. His right one contains a large tattoo of the letter, B.
Meaning: Both the tattoos combined together, stand as MB which spells out his name, Matt Barnes.
12. ‘Footprints, Names and Wings’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The backside of his neck contains the tattoo of wings. To the left side of the wings is a tattoo of footprints of a baby. The names Carter and Isaiah are tattooed around the footprints.
Meaning: Matt got the tattoo to show his love for his sons, Carter Kelly Barnes and Isaiah Michael Barnes.
13. ‘Lips and Chinese Symbol’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Just a little above his right elbow is a tattoo of lips with their tongue out. The inner side of his left forearm contains a tattoo of a Chinese symbol with flames around it.
Meaning: The Chinese symbol is the symbol of eternal life.
14. ‘Sleeping Moon’ Tattoo
Tattoo: There is a tattoo of a Crescent Moon behind Matt’s right ear with three little Z’s tattooed near it to show that it is sleeping.
15. ‘Grim Reaper’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The former NBA star’s left forearm contains a tattoo of the Grim Reaper holding his Scythe. Below his cloak, just above his wrist are the face of ghosts in the air to complete his sleeve.
16. ‘Skull’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Matt’s left bicep contains a tattoo of the skull with eyes, wearing a tied bandana on its head. The hands of the skull are covering its mouth in surprise and the left hand also adorns a ring.
Meaning: Matt revealed that this tattoo is a tribute to the late rap artist, Tupac Shakur.
17. Back Tattoos
Tattoo: Matt’s upper back contains the Italian words, “La Famiglia” tattooed on it. Just above the words is the tattoo of 4 playing cards. Two on each side with a pair of red eyes in between. On the left-hand side are the tattoos of two Jack cards with the names, Carter and Isaiah written on them. On the right-hand side are the tattoos of the King and Queen cards with the name, Gloria, written on the queen card. The back of his neck also contains a tattoo of the letters CA tattooed in red and white between little black stars.
Meaning: La Famiglia along with the playing cards tattoo is for his family. The names are the names of his sons, Carter Kelly Barnes, Isaiah Michael Barnes, and his former spouse, Gloria Govan. The CA stands for the state of California where he ended his career playing for and winning the league with the Golden State Warriors.
18. ‘Woman and Scenery’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The left shoulder of the NBA star contains a tattoo of the face of a woman with two words tattooed below it. He left upper arm contains the tattoo of beautiful beach view of the orange sky and the setting sun along with palm trees. Just above this scenery is a tattoo of a shape of a man.
19. ‘Calf’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Barnes’ calf contains the words, “Only the Strong Survive” tattooed on it.
20. ‘California’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The upper part of his right forearm contains the tattoo of many famous landmarks of the state of California along with the words, California Love tattooed on it.
Meaning: Matt Barnes got this tattoo to show his love for the city where he was born and raised.
21. Quote Tattoos
Tattoo: The middle of Matt’s chest contains the words, ” By Any Means Necessary ” tattooed on it. Below his neck, his collar bone line contains the words, ” What goes around comes around ” tattooed on it. His collar bones also contain two red ribbon symbols tattooed on them.
Meaning: The red ribbons are used to signify and spread awareness for many campaigns such as prevention of HIV/AIDS, drunk driving prevention among many others.
22. ‘Angel, Devil and Letters’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The far sides of his chest contain very unique tattoos. His right pec contains a tattoo of an angel sitting on a cloud and his left pec contains a tattoo of the lady devil. His right pec also contains the letters, “F.T.H” tattooed on it.
23. ‘Angel’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Matt’s belly contains a large tattoo of an angel sitting with her wings spread and her hands joined in prayer.
Meaning: The angel is actually Matt’s mother, Ann Barnes who passed away due to cancer in 2007. While he was on break due to injury, he decided to get another tattoo to honor his mother.
24. ‘Roses’ Tattoo
Tattoo: The left side of his pec, just below the lady devil tattoo contains a tattoo of two rose flowers.
25. ‘Heart, Cherubs, and Quote’ Tattoos
Tattoo: The middle part of his chest, just below the quote tattoo contains a tattoo of a realistic heart. There are tattoos of cherubs praying on either side of the heart. Above the cherub on the left side of his body is a quote which reads, “The greatest gift a man can give his children is to love Their Mother”.
