LaMelo Ball famously has multiple tattoos on his body that have even gotten him into hot water with the NBA in the past. While playing, most of his tattoos are not visible as they are under his jersey. However, in a recent picture posted on X, he was seen shirtless with a significant portion of his upper body and torso covered in ink.
This did not sit well with most fans as they felt it was a bit excessive and unbecoming of an NBA player. Moreover, some fans even went personal about his looks and personality.
[NOTE: Fan comments edited for grammatical clarity]
LaMelo shows off his new tats
(via rockrollg/IG / h/t @overtime ) pic.twitter.com/LiuDaVfpyu
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 17, 2025
“I’ll never understand the hype with tattoos, man. This sh** looks disgusting,” said an X user online.
“Ngl those tattoos are a**,” wrote another X user.
“Is that the third island boy,” wrote a fan hilariously in the context of the musical duo “Island Boys” who are trolled for being covered in tattoos all over their body.
“I’m sorry, but this looks so bad, man,” said another sympathetic X user who was disappointed with Ball’s tattoos.
Some fans even went as far as to criticize his game despite the tattoos having no relation to his performance. Even after the former All-Star player averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 assists, and 4.9 rebounds in 47 games played this season.
“Dude’s more focused on getting tatted up than improving his game,” said a fan online.
“Unironically, some of the worst tattoos I’ve ever seen,”
“Chosen one for what exactly?? The most injuries in a career?”
When LaMelo Ball Nearly Got Into Trouble Over His Tattoos
During the 2023-24 season, LaMelo Ball was instructed by the NBA to cover his neck tattoo during the games as it violated league rules against visible commercial logos used during games. Ball had an ‘LF’ symbol tattooed on his neck, which stood for ‘LaFrance’, his middle name, and a fashion brand he started in 2020.
LaMelo Ball is now covering up his new "LF" tattoo.
The LF on his tattoo stands for LaFrancé, the name of Ball's clothing line. pic.twitter.com/x0BhRLqo7S
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 15, 2023
The league initially decided that he would have to tape up the tattoo during any NBA games. NBA spokesman Tim Frank initially released a statement deeming the tattoo a blatant violation of league policy.
“Per the (Collective Bargaining Agreement), players are prohibited from displaying commercial logos or corporate insignia on their body or in their hair during games. We try to enforce the rule reasonably, in accordance with its purpose, and taking into account players’ efforts to express themselves in a non-commercial manner. But LaMelo Ball’s neck tattoo is in obvious violation of the rule and, accordingly, he’s required to cover it.”
But it was later decided he would not be fined by the NBA after Ball returned from an injury.
