Dallas Mavericks Star DeShawn Stevenson — Rookie Tattoo Artist

Dallas Mavericks star DeShawn Stevenson has a fallback plan in case the new NBA deal falls apart — TATTOO ARTIST — and TMZ has learned he got his first crack at human flesh earlier this week.

The honchos at Fallen Sparrow Tattoo Co. tell us … Stevenson rolled in with friends Monday … but instead of being the canvas, the NBA star thought it would be a good idea to take the needle and do some designing on someone else.

We’re told DeShawn’s favorite tat artist, Chad, volunteered for the mark — so Stevenson grabbed the needle and inked the guy’s leg with his jersey number, 92.

Fortunately, only the usual amount of blood was shed … and Chad tells us, “For a first-timer, he actually did a pretty good job.”