How Tattoos Draw Magic's Jett Howard, Cole Anthony Closer to Family

Tattoos are among the most personable expressions of a person's interest. For Orlando Magic guards Jett Howard and Cole Anthony, the ink carries significance and draws a forever tie to their families, friends and loved ones.

Jett Howard got a tattoo during the offseason commemorating his dad's time at Michigan, made to look like a newspaper clipping of The New York Times. / @kidneedle on Instagram

ORLANDO, Fla. – Few leagues, if any, are larger purveyors of the individual cultures that intersect with sports than the NBA.

While some old-school practices certainly still exist, the league is mostly removed from the days of uniform dress codes and restrictions regarding apparel and appearance, making room for athletes’ individuality. That freedom of expression – now magnified by social media – has played a significant role in basketball’s global popularity.

The tunnel walk into the arena has become professional sports’ nightly red carpet. The hardwood floors are a showcase of shoe game. Nowadays, how players represent themselves and the art that surrounds basketball is as prevalent as the sport itself.

Perhaps no more personal form of expression exists than a player’s tattoos. For some of the world’s best athletes, the same body that allows them to excel at their sport can serve as a canvas for their most precious values and interests.

Tattoos can carry meaning – or none at all. The openness to interpretation is part of the allure.

“I think a tattoo is a really cool thing because it’s so versatile. There’s so many things you can do with it,” Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony said. “People all over the world have tattoos, and everyone’s is unique. It’s something that might mean a lot to you, it might honestly mean nothing. I’ve seen people who just get tattoos for the hell of it.”

Yet for Anthony and Jett Howard, his second-year teammate in the Magic backcourt, every droplet of ink conveys significance. Both have used the needle to forever display their love for their families.

“See, for me, tattoos are always going to be something meaningful,” Howard said. “No disrespect to anyone that has anything different, but I just wanted to put something close to home, like my mom’s name or a quote – something that hits home that I could be okay with having on my body forever.”

Their similarities go further than just their approach to getting tatted. Each is the son of a former ball-playing dad, and the pair each honor it in ink – just with their own flair.

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Jett’s father, Juwan, was a 19-year NBA veteran, two-time NBA champion and All-NBA performer. But before that, he was one-fifth of the Fab Five – the star-studded class of freshmen that took the University of Michigan and the college basketball world by storm. Alongside Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson, Howard and the Wolverines racked up numerous All-Big Ten recognitions and appeared in back-to-back national title games before the group started fraying off to the professional ranks.

This summer, Jett found a way he wanted to honor his dad’s collegiate accomplishments forever. While scrolling Instagram, Howard saw a template of a newspaper clipping tattoo. Working with popular artist Kid Needle, he began sketching ideas – a process that took about a month.

Eventually, Howard settled on a clipping that resembled The New York Times, selected the pictures to accompany it himself, and the “headline” reads ‘Five College Freshmen ignited a Revolution.’

“It just came alive,” Howard said.

The Fab Five tattoo features prominently on Howard's left abdomen. / @kidneedle on Instagram

The larger picture features the team huddled with Juwan’s back prominently featured in the middle. Only his name is above his jersey number, and that’s by design. It draws back to the significance of his family’s name being on his own body, as Jett said he didn’t want any other man’s name featured.

The Fab Five huddles during a game. Howard, featured in the middle of the picture, is Jett's father. / NCAA

The smaller picture features the Fab Five’s long shorts, black socks and black shoes that symbolized a new era of on-court swagger. The iconic Michigan block ‘M,’ even in smaller print, is easily noticeable.

The Fab Five made black socks, black shoes and baggy shorts the newest trend in on-court apparel. Few groups were as influential as the collective Fab Five together. / ESPN

Overall, the piece took 10 hours to complete, and Howard said the numbing cream he applied to his left abdomen wore off after just two hours.

“I was in pain for like eight hours after that,” Howard said. “It was crazy.”

Juwan hasn’t been a fan of tattoos ever since Jett was a kid, he said, but the mentality toward this one in particular was different. After seeing it on Instagram, Juwan sent his son a text and gave it his approval.

“He was like, ‘I actually like it. I think it’s a pretty cool idea.’ I think he just likes it because it’s him on it.

“I went up to New York right before training camp to work out with him for a little bit. He saw it; he was smiling and stuff, and I’m happy he has a positive attitude toward it and is happy about it. As long as he’s happy about it, I’m cool.”

Juwan Howard (left), with his son, Jett Howard, as he prepares to throw a ceremonial first pitch before the game between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians at Guaranteed Rate Field. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Cole’s father, Greg, enjoyed an 11-year NBA career of his own, but he too was prominent in the collegiate ranks. After a season at the University of Portland, Anthony was a three-year standout at UNLV. With the Runnin’ Rebels, Anthony was a three-time All-Big West performer and the point guard of the 1989-90 title-winning team, averaging 11.2 points and 7.4 assists en route to the school’s first – and so far only – championship.

Greg’s No. 50 jersey is retired by the university’s basketball program. The red UNLV “50” also is forever retired to Cole’s left forearm.

The red UNLV '50' tattoo is shown on Cole Anthony's left forearm at all times. One arm's ink is reserved for his mom, and the other for his dad. / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Cole’s left arm is dedicated to his dad and his side of the family, and his entire right arm is reserved for his mom and her side. Anthony got his first tattoos – his parents’ first names, Crystal then Gregory — at the University of North Carolina.

“I went home before classes and surprised her, and she was hyped,” Anthony said. 

Cole Anthony poses with his mom, Crystal McCrary. / @the_cole.anthony on Instagram

Anthony, like Howard, knows that the ink on his body will be there for the rest of his life. But through the multiple avenues provided for people to express what’s most important to them, he felt the tattoos were appropriate.

“Those are my best friends, man,” Anthony said of his parents. “I love them to death and I wanted to honor them some way, and this was one of the ways I chose to do it.”

Cole Anthony with his dad, Greg Anthony, at an NBA game, next to Scottie Pippen. / NBA

He also has other interests memorialized on his body. A Pokémon sleeve covers his lower right leg, and elsewhere, Anthony has a matching “Count Yourself In” piece with some of his best friends. 

You won’t find him in loud, bold fashion pieces in the tunnel – “I keep it on the cozy route, you’re usually gonna catch me in some comfy clothes,” he said – but the tattoos allow him to use his body as the best representation of what’s important to him.

“I think it’s dope, just the place we’re in in the world right now where you have so many different ways to express yourself.”

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The NBA, more than ever, is a league that promotes stars who are unapologetically themselves. It’s contributed to many player’s rise to stardom in this new generation, where digital natives know the power of social media, are aware of their influences and bridge the gap to the exclusivity the NBA lifestyle brings more than ever with fans.

That doesn’t mean all significance is lost. Howard and Anthony utilize tattoos as the depictors of where their interests lie and the values they hold deeply, from family to basketball to off-court hobbies and everything in between.

In almost all instances, family is forever.

The Magic’s duo of guards have it in ink.

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