Let’s make the best of the sweeping imposed break in this year’s edition of the NBA Playoffs and take a look at some of the best player nicknames of all time. Fresh or dusty, all are considered.
The NBA Finals have probably never featured so many stars of this beautiful game, but for some reason, I’m not impressed with the creativity of their nicks. King James, Dray, Steph, KD, D-Will. Yawn. OK, there have been some more creative tries like The Dancing Bear, Durantula or a combined nick for the Splash Brothers, but these mostly haven’t caught up, except for the latter which is not very usable when attributing single player (Splash Brother is simply wrong).
This gets a little bit better if we observe the current nicknames outside the Finals group. You can find a Greek Freak, Sauce Castillo and The Beard, along with some other funny or spot nicks that truly identify with the players.
Top 15 NBA Nicknames
Truth to be told, some megastars of the old NBA universe have had underwhelming nicknames too, but the following list I’ve gathered for you as my personal selection relies exclusively on the former players’ nicknames. It’s also a perfect opportunity to remember some of the greatest and most colorful characters in the NBA history.
-
Dr. J (Julius Erving)
I’m not a big fan of nicks that use names or initials, but this one’s an exception. I’m willing to bet you that more people know who Dr. J is than the people who actually know his name.
On “CBS This Morning” a couple of year ago, Dr. J said the name originated from a high school friend even though people began trying to dub him things like The Claw and Black Moses. He explained, “When I got to the Rucker League (in New York City), I was already 21, it was my junior year of college, and I was going to play on that stage before my first pro season. And they started calling me all kinds of nicknames because of the antics on the court, and I went over and corrected them and said, ‘Look, if you’re going to call me anything, just call me the Doctor, because you know, my best friend in high school had given me the name The Doctor … He said I had a lot of moves — more moves than Carter has liver pills.’
-
The Human Victory Cigar (Darko Milicic)
Not many lists outside ones that gather all time busts would have Darko Milicic on them, but this is simply too hilarious to miss out. The media haven’t been fair to young Milicic who had joined mighty Detroit Pistons frontcourt that featured Ben and Rasheed Wallace, Elden Campbell and Mehmet Okur, so despite being such a high pick, the kid only got some minutes after the Pistons have secured the victory.
He was also unfairly compared to others in his draft class, as it was a rare terrific year if your team would just miss him. Detroit won the 2004 title anyway.
Truth to be told, it’s not an original nickname as another Yugoslav center was originally in the same position. It was Stojko Vrankovic, because he played at the end of blowout games where great Red Auerbach would actually light his cigar.
-
The Glove (Gary Payton)
This unusual nickname is actually a reference to Payton’s excellent defense and has nothing to do with his shot release as some people think.
Payton got his nickname The Glove when his cousin Glenn called him during the 1993 Western Conference Finals series against Phoenix and told him, “you’re holding Kevin Johnson like a baseball in a glove,” and the nickname was born.
-
The Big Fundamental (Tim Duncan)
In Tim Duncan’s case, nick is pretty self explanatory: The Big Fundamental. It sounds pretty boring – though well deserved – and a true reflection of the type of player Duncan has been throughout his entire career.
It’s not really clear if this coach Popovich’s statement has anything to do with the nick, but it’s sums is so nicely: “His complete game is so sound, so fundamental, so unnoticed at times, because if he didn’t score, people think, ‘Well, he didn’t do anything,’” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after Game 7 in 2005. “But he was incredible and he was the force that got it done for us.”
-
The Hibachi (Gilbert Arenas)
Arenas was most often nicknamed Agent Zero, due to his former jersey number and his clutch shot-making ability, but has insisted to be called Hibachi for a period of his career, inspired by a small Japanese barbequing device, which literally translates to bowl of fire. Arenas has carved a niche as one of the most interesting personalities in the game, but credit for this nickname belongs to a Wizards fan blog – The Wizznutzz.
-
Muggsy (Tyrone Bogues)
At 5’3’’ Bogues is still the shortest NBA player ever, but it’s not his stature but his proficiency for stealing the ball has earned him the nickname he’s now known by. He was so adept at stealing, it was like he was mugging someone – therefore Muggsy Bogues.
Oh and make sure you seek out the iconic image of him and Manute Bol in Bullets uniforms.
-
World (World B. Free | Lloyd Bernard Free)
Sometimes the players get so assimilated with their nicks that people forget that it’s not their true name. But what about when it fits so well that a player legally changes his first name? That’s exactly what a former scoring standout did when he was 28. He got his name from his days in Brooklyn, where a friend nicknamed him World because of his 44-inch vertical leap and 360 degree dunks. He was known for taking high risk shots and playing flamboyantly.
-
The Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon)
One of the greatest centers to ever play the game was very real. Olajuwon earned 27,000 points, 13,700 rebounds and 3,800 blocks in the NBA. Most of the players can only dream about such a career, but his nickname actually originate before his first pro bucket.
Basketball sportscaster Dick Vitale dubbed Olajuwon The Dream during his freshman year at the University of Houston.
-
Pistol Pete (Pete Maravich)
As with many things about Maravich, it’s hard to know how where the truth about his nickname ends and its legend begins. It was either because of his shooting motion (from the hip, like unholstering a pistol) or because of his dead-eye accuracy. Either way, his supreme talent and attractive style will always be connected with the nick that accompanies his name.
-
The Worm (Dennis Rodman)
Rodman was known as much for his strange persona as his prolific rebounding (he averaged 18.7 rebounds per game as a member of the Pistons during the 1991-92 season). As a boy growing up in Dallas, Rodman’s friends started calling him Worm due to how he squirmed while playing pinball. Not that his ability to find open space in the paint wouldn’t earn it anyway.
-
The Mailman (Karl Malone)
During his playing career, Karl Malone played 80 or more games in a season 17(!) times. That’s a kind of a reliability I’d like to have for my mailman. For our younger readers, there was a time we actually send paper letters that had to be delivered to an actual postal address. That was a long, long time ago. Well, Malone certainly delivered. Despite never winning an NBA title, the Mailman is NBA’s second best all time scorer.
-
Diesel (Shaquille O’Neal)
Nobody has more awesome names than Shaquille O’Neal. Whether he’s Diesel, The Big Aristotle, The Big Cactus, Superman, The Real Deal, Shaqzilla or The Shogun, the big fella is instantly recognized for his upbeat demeanor and a truck-sized body frame.
-
The Chief (Robert Parish)
Celtics’ great Robert Parish was never a hurricane type of a player, so his teammate Cedric Maxwell coined his nickname after the stoic character of The Chief from ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.’ It stuck and has also perfectly fit Parish in his later years as he had developed silent but steady leadership and league-wide respect.
-
The Round Mound of Rebound (Charles Barkley)
Colorful and expressive, Charles Barkley would probably prefer Sir Charles nick but the Round Mound of Rebound is much more appropriate for a 6-5, 250-pound forward who averaged nearly 12 rebounds a game during his 16-year career.
-
The Human Highlight Film (Dominique Wilkins)
Wilkins’ nickname traces back to his college days at Georgia, although exploits of his high flying acrobats came even before that. Once Wilkins reached the NBA, he quickly became known for his spontaneous, show stopping dunks. That ability, coupled with his two slam dunk championships and regular scoring outbursts, solidified Wilkins’ status as the Human Highlight Film.
Honorable mentions: Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Larry “Grandmama” Johnson, Michael “Air” Jordan, Ronald “Popeye” Jones, Vinnie “The Microwave” Johnson
We hope that you have enjoyed this fun read. Stay tuned with Get More Sports for more interesting sports news.
