In February 2018, JJ Redick mentioned on his podcast that the Sixers had a team building exercise this year in which players each presented on a topic of their choice at team breakfasts. As summarized by Hoops Hype:
Jahlil Okafor gave a presentation on why NCAA players should be paid. Another unnamed player spoke about why marijuana should be legal. TJ McConnell discussed coffee. Amir Johnson highlighted tattoo culture. Justin Anderson focused on the history of hip-hop.
Happily, details on Amir Johnson’s tattoo presentation have emerged thanks to Kevin Arnovitz’s ESPN piece, “Pythons and PowerPoints: How the Sixers cracked the culture code.”
Arnovitz explains:
“Tattoos have been a part of my life for a while,” Johnson says. “I did research, and explained how they became a part of the culture and what inspired me to get mine.”
Then there was the fun part – a quasi-tribute to the NBA’s tattoo pioneer, Allen Iverson, and slides of amusing tattoos from around the league, including Mario Chalmers’ “Super Mario” image and the Larry O'Brien Trophy found on Jason Terry’s biceps.
One of Johnson’s overriding messages: Tattoos are a way for in-groups to express identity. It’s a permanent mark of tribal affiliation, one that persists over time, irrespective of national success or failure.
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A 2019 piece on the Sixers website discussed Amir Johnson's tattoo of his two children:
"the day before the Sixers departed for Denver, Johnson spent about eight hours in a tattoo shop. By the end of the session, he left with portraits of his children - Amelia and Amir Jr. - on the right side of his torso.
The drawings are just another way for Johnson, who writes Amelia’s and Amir Jr.’s nicknames (‘Milli Rock’ and ‘2 Man’) on all of his sneakers, to constantly feel connected to his family, even if he’s not always at home."
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Johnson shared this photo in 2014 via his instagram account, showing his tattoo of Jack Skellington from A Nightmare Before Christmas with a basketball.
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Johnson has a tattoo of the comic book character Spawn on his leg. The photo above, showing the newly completed design, was posted to Johnson's instagram account in June 2012. In Octobe 2012, Jared Zwerling asked NBA players what they did during the offseason for an ESPN article. Johnson confirmed that the Spawn tattoo was one of several he added that summer: "I got a few new tattoos this summer. I got a collage of the 'Spawn' characters on my calf. I used to like the comic book when I was a kid, so it represents that part of me. I also got the Eye of Horus on my neck, which is the Egyptian symbol for protection and good health."
