In December 2019, Ayesha Curry posted the above photo to her instagram account, showing the matching tattoos that she and Stephen Curry have. As described in the image caption, the designs are symbolic representations of their children:
He luhhhhh matching my swag (***these are our babies signs we have for them) . Each has a deeper meaning and representation to us. Canon will always be our young wolf. Ryan our butterfly (this one makes me cry with joy just thinking about it) and Riley our horse (free spirited , which we turned into a unicorn because she’s our magical first born).
The tattoo artist, Winter Stone, also posted an image of the design to his instagram account.
- - -
Tattoo artist Niño Lapid of Zebra Piercing and Tattoo Parlor posted the above photo to his instagram in November 2018, showing a proud Stephen Curry. In 2017, Lapid tattooed Steph and his brother Seth. This week, as seen in another of Lapid’s instagram posts, Curry returned the favor by tattooing his signature onto the artist’s leg. Here’s the finished design:
- - -
Tattoo artist Niño Lapid posted the above photo of a tattoo party at Stephen Curry’s house in June 2017, immediately following the NBA finals. The tattoo party was thrown to celebrate Golden State’s championship, and the entire Curry family was tattooed, along with Andre Iguodala.
In a Charlotte Observer interview, Stephen’s father (and former NBA player) Dell Curry shared more details about the tattoos:
I actually got two tattoos, and they were the first tattoos and will be the last tattoos of my life. One is the word ‘Curry’ in Hebrew, and we all got that – me, my wife, Ayesha (Steph’s wife) and our three kids (Steph, Seth and Sydel). I’m not going to lie to you – it hurt. But the tattoos were so small that every time, right when I was about to tell the tattoo artist to stop, he would finish a letter and lift up.
An earlier report about the tattoo party published by the Charlotte Observer, describes the “Curry” tattoo in more detail: “three Hebrew letters that when read aloud would sound like ‘Curry.’” That article also confirmed that Mavericks player Seth Curry got this tattoo as well.
- - -
- - -
Artist Moises Mendez posted the above photo to his instagram page in 2016. The design on Curry's inner arm, with the letters "WOE" is short for “'working on excellence,' a slogan borrowed from one of his favourite rappers, Torontonian Devontee" as explained by Donnovan Bennett in a 2019 Sportsnet article.
- - -
In November 2014, Ayesha Curry posted the above photo to her instagram page, showing the matching tattoo that she and Stephen Curry share. It was almost two years before the meaning of the tattoo was revealed: in an interview with Parents Magazine, Steph explained the design: “It signifies the past is behind us and the future isn’t promised so we stay right in the middle, in the moment.”
In Ayesha’s caption, she writes “@wardell30 [Stephen Curry] copied me” but in a surprising twist, former E! News host Catt Sadler revealed in a People Magazine interview that the Currys actually took the idea from her:
Sadler has a total of six tattoos — and one of them caught the eye of Warriors star Steph Curry and his wife, Ayesha. The tattoo, which is two inward-facing arrows on Sadler’s wrist, means to be in the present and focus on the now. The past is dead and gone — the future is not promised. Ayesha heard Sadler explain the meaning one day on TV and went home and told Steph; the couple proceeded to get the same design. In fact, they both touch it as a symbol of faith before every Warriors game.
- - -
As reported by Terez Owens in June 2015, Curry has his wife Ayesha’s first initial tattooed on his ring finger because he’s not allowed to wear his wedding band during games.
- - -
In June 2013, Steph Curry posted a series of Vine videos to his twitter account which showed he and his wife Ayesha getting matching tattoos. The design, seen above, is Hebrew text which translates to “Love Never Fails.” Below are stills of each of their tattoos in progress:
- - -
As part of their reporting on the 2011 NBA lockout, Grantland published a feature about Curry's return to Davidson to complete his degree during this forced time off from the league:
He enrolled in three classes this semester: a class on the history of education, a medical sociology class, and today’s qualitative research class. The research class is a precursor for Curry’s thesis. He is planning to write on the relationship between basketball players and tattoos. He has already polled about five players and drawn a surprising correlation. Nearly all the players said they wouldn’t have as many tattoos if they weren’t in the NBA spotlight, and they certainly wouldn’t be as visible, because they believed it would damage their prospects at other employment.
Curry has only one discreet tattoo on the inside of his left wrist. It reads “T.C.C.” and stands for trust, commitment, and care. Curry received the tattoo along with four teammates, and it served as their motto. The idea for the thesis arrived while Curry drove to class and tuned into a sports radio show. The show’s topic concerned Panthers owner Jerry Richardson apparently asking Cam Newton to refrain from any tattoos or piercings. Curry thought about the many NBA players who would have shattered that rule.
- - -
When Stephen Curry entered the league in 2009, he had one small tattoo, as described in a Sports Illustrated profile from that same year: “His lone tattoo, discreetly inked on the inside of his left wrist, is the motto of Davidson, the small college he guided to the Elite Eight in 2008. “T.C.C.”: Trust, Commitment, Care.”