List of nicknames in basketball

This is a list of nicknames in the sport of professional basketball.

Players

• "The Admiral" – David Robinson (he was in the Navy)
• "A.I." – Allen Iverson (his initials)
• "A.I. 2" – Andre Iguodala (his initials plus the two, since Allen Iverson is the original AI)
• "Air Canada" - Vince Carter (when he played for the Toronto Raptors)
• "Air Jordan" - Michael Jordan
• "Air Zaire" – Dikembe Mutombo
• "AK-47" – Andrei Kirilenko; after his initials, jersey number, and with a play on the famous Soviet assault rifle
• "Ap" - Anthony Parker
• "Heir Apparent" - Kobe Bryant
• "The Answer" – Allen Iverson
• "B-Diddy" - Baron Davis
• "Big-O" – Oscar Robertson
• "Shaq Diesel" – Shaquille O'Neal
• "Big Ben" – Ben Wallace
• "The Big Cat" - Jamaal Magloire
• "Big Country" – Bryant Reeves
• "The Big Diesel" – Shaquille O'Neal
• "The Big Dipper" – Wilt Chamberlain
• "Big Dog" – Glenn Robinson and Antoine Carr
• "The Big Drizzle" – Drew Gooden (His old nickname was "The Truth", now owned by Paul Pierce)
• "The Big Fundamental" – Tim Duncan
• "Big Game James" – James Worthy
• "Big Shot Bob" – Robert Horry
• "The Hurt" - Kurt Thomas
• "The Big Smooth" – Sam Perkins
• "Big Smooth" - Charlie Villanueva
• "Big Snacks" - Jerome James
• "The Big Ticket" – Kevin Garnett
• "Brazillian Blur"- Leandro Barbosa
• "Big Z" - Zydrunas Ilgauskas
• "Bird Man" - Chris Andersen
• "Black Cat" – Michael Jordan
• "Black Mamba" - Kobe Bryant
• "The Brazilian Beast" - Nenê
• "The Cambyman" - Marcus Camby
• "The Captain" – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• "Captain Canada" - Steve Nash (nickname often used by Sportsnet broadcasters)
• "Captain Crunch" - Jalen Rose
• "The Cat" - Cuttino Mobley
• "CB4" - Chris Bosh
• "The Chief" – Robert Parish (after the mute, expressionless character in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest)
• "Chocolate Thunder" – Darryl Dawkins
• "The Chosen One" - Lebron James
• "Clyde" – Walt Frazier (after the film Bonnie and Clyde, due to his flamboyant clothes)
• "Clyde the Glide" – Clyde Drexler
• "CP3" - Chris Paul
• "The Croatian Sensation" – Toni Kukoč; rhyming play on his Croatian origin
• "C-Webb" - Chris Webber
• "The Daily Double" - Dwight Howard (for his consistent scoring and rebounding)
• "Damp" - Erick Dampier
• "Det the Threat" – Detlef Schrempf
• "Dirk Diggler" – Dirk Nowitzki (after the porn star)
• "Disco Dirk" - Dirk Nowitzki
• "D-Marsh" - Donyell Marshall
• "D-Miles" - Darius Miles
• "D-Wade" – Dwayne Wade
• "Dollar Bill" – Bill Bradley
• "Double P" - Paul Pierce
• "Dr. J" – Julius Erving
• "The Dunking Dutchman" – Rik Smits
• "Dynasty" – Yao Ming; given by ex-teammate Steve Francis, pertaining to the Ming Dynasty
• "Earl the Pearl" – Earl Monroe
• "El Contusione" – Manu Ginobili
• "Employee Number 8" - Antoine Walker
• "Flash" - Dwayne Wade; named after a superhero: Flash
• "Flip" - Ronald Murray
• "Floppy" - Manu Ginobili
• "Get Buckets" - Ricky Davis
• "G-Force" - Gerald Wallace
• "Garbage Man" - Michael Bradley
• "The Glove" – Gary Payton (his defense "held" opponents like a "baseball in a glove")
• "God" – Michael Jordan
• "Grandmama" - Larry Johnson
• "The Great Wall of China" – Yao Ming,
• "H2O" – Allan Houston (after his jersey number)
• "Hair Canada" – Steve Nash
• "The Dream" – Hakeem Olajuwon
• "Half Man, Half Amazing" - Vince Carter (after his performance in the 2000 dunk contest)
• "His Airness" – Michael Jordan
• "His Heinous" – Bill Laimbeer
• "The Hick from French Lick" – Larry Bird
• "Hoffa" - Rafael Araujo
• "Hondo" - John Havlicek (after the John Wayne movie)
• "The Human Eraser" – Marvin Webster
• "The Human Highlight Film" – Dominique Wilkins
• "The Human Victory Cigar" – Darko Milicic (because of his extremely limited playtime)
• "The Iceman" – George Gervin
• "Iggy" - Andre Iguodala
• "Indiana Jones" - Fred Jones (Plays for the Indiana Pacers)
• "LBJ" - LeBron James
• "J-Dub" - Jason Williams
• "J-Smooth" - Josh Smith
• "Jesus" – Ray Allen (after his role in He Got Game)
• "The Jet" - Jason Terry
• "J-Rich" - Jason Richardson
• "J. Will" - Jason Williams
• "J.J." - Joe Johnson
• "Jungle Jim" – Jim Loscutoff
• "The Junk Yard Dog" – Jerome Williams (for his willingness to do the dirty work)
• "Kandi Man" - Michael Olowokandi
• "KG" – Kevin Garnett (his initials)
• "Kid Canada" - Steve Nash
• "Killer" – Reggie Miller
• "King James" - LeBron James
• "K-Mart" - Kenyon Martin
• "The Kobe Stopper" - Ruben Patterson
• "The Kobra" - Kobe Bryant
• "(The) L-Train" - Lionel Simmons
• "Larry Legend" – Larry Bird
• "Le Roi" (French, "The King") Antoine Rigaudeau
• "Lord of the Rings" - Kobe Bryant
• "Mad Dog" – Mark Madsen
• "Madison Square Gordon" – Ben Gordon
• "Magic" – Earvin Johnson
• "The Mailman" – Karl Malone ("a mailman always delivers")
• "The Matrix" – Shawn Marion (after the film)
• "Melo" - Carmelo Anthony
• "The Microwave" – Vinnie Johnson ("gets hot instantly")
• "The Mitten" – Gary Payton (he has lost a step on defense, so now he fits more like a mitten than a glove")
• "Mighty Mouse" - Damon Stoudamire
• "Miller Time" - Reggie Miller
• "Mighty Mouse" - Salim Stoudamire
• "The Ming Dynasty" - Yao Ming
• "Miracle" - Milt Palacio
• "MJ" – Michael Jordan
• "Monster Mash" – Jamal Mashburn; a play on his surname with the Bobby Pickett song, "Monster Mash"*"
• "Moochie" - Martyn Norris
• "MoPete" - Morris Peterson
• "Mr. Big Shot" - Chauncey Billups
• "Mr.81" - Kobe Bryant; On January 22, 2006 scored 81 points vs the Toronto Raptors in L.A.
• "Mr. Clutch" – Jerry West
• "Nasty Nash" – Steve Nash
• "One-Armed Man" - Shot developed by street legend Brian Slone, consisting of a driving one-handed "flip" in which the alternate hand never touches the basketball.
• "The Owl without a Vowel" – Bill Mlkvy
• "Penny" - Anfernee Hardaway
• "Pistol Pete" – Pete Maravich He was a great shooter
• "Pitchin' Paul" – Paul Arizin
• "Plastic Man" - Stacey Augmon
• "The Prince of Darkness" – Bill Laimbeer
• "Q" - Quentin Richardson
• "Quick Nick" – Nick Van Exel
• "The Red Rocket" - Matt Bonner
• "Redd Hot" - Michael Redd
• "Reef" - Shareef Abdur-Rahim
• "The Reignman" – Shawn Kemp
• "Rip" - Richard Hamilton
• "Ron Ron" – Ron Artest
• "The Round Mound of Rebound" – Charles Barkley
• "R-Wall" - Rasheed Wallace
• "Sam I Am" - Sam Cassell
• "Saras" - Sarunas Jasikevicius
• "Shaq" - Shaquille O'Neal
• "Shaquie Chan" – Yao Ming, a play on the names of basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal and Chinese actor and martial artist Jackie Chan
• "Sheed" – Rasheed Wallace
• "The Show" - Harold Arceneaux
• "Silk" – Jamaal Wilkes
• "Sir Charles" – Charles Barkley
• "Skinny" – Mike Miller
• "Skip to my Lou" – Rafer Alston
• "Speedy" – Craig Claxton
• "Starbury" – Stephon Marbury
• "Stat" - Amare Stoudemire
• "The Stro Show" - Stromile Swift
• "Stevie Franchise" - Steve Francis
• "Sugar" - Ray Allen
• "The Dove" - Nadav Henfeld
• "Thunder Dan" – Dan Majerle
• "Tim Bug" – Tim Hardaway
• "Tiny" – Nate Archibald
• "T-Mac" - Tracy McGrady
• "T-Tom" - Tim Thomas
• "The Tractor" – Robert Traylor
• "The Truth" – Paul Pierce
• "Vinsanity" – Vince Carter
• "Wally World" - Wally Szczerbiak
• "White Chocolate" – Jason Williams
• "Wife-Beater" - Jason Kidd (Was called this by the Celtics fans during the 2002 ECF)
• "Wilt the Stilt" – Wilt Chamberlain
• "The Worm" – Dennis Rodman (for his wriggling when he played pinball)
• "The X-Man" – Xavier McDaniel; play on the initial of his first name with the X-Men, a group of superheroes
• "Zeke" – Isiah Thomas
• "Zo" - Alonzo Mourning
• "Urch" - Gary Urchuck

First name basis

The following players are usually referred to by their first name only:

• Alonzo - Alonzo Mourning
• Amaré - Amaré Stoudemire
• Carmelo - Carmelo Anthony
• Dirk - Dirk Nowitzki
• Gilbert - Gilbert Arenas
• Juwan - Juwan Howard
• Hakeem - Hakeem Olajuwon
• Kareem - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• Kobe - Kobe Bryant
• Larry - Larry Bird
• LeBron - LeBron James
• Manu - Manu Ginobili
• Michael - Michael Jordan
• Nenê - Nenê (Hilario)
• Pau - Pau Gasol
• Peja - Peja Stojaković
• Rasheed - Rasheed Wallace
• Reggie - Reggie Miller
• Vince - Vince Carter
• Yao - Yao Ming

Teams

• Baby Bulls - Chicago Bulls
• Blazers – Portland Trailblazers
• Boomers – Australian national team
• Cavs – Cleveland Cavaliers
• The Defenders - Detroit Pistons
• Gli Azzurri – Italy national team
• Jailblazers - Portland Trailblazers
• Knickerbockers – New York Knicks
• Les Bleus – France national team
• Mavs – Dallas Mavericks
• Queens - Sacramento Kings (first used by Shaquille O'Neal)
• Raps - Toronto Raptors
• Sixers – Philadelphia 76ers
• Sonics, Hedgehogs, or Supe's – Seattle SuperSonics
• Texas Warriors - San Antonio Spurs
• Tall Blacks – New Zealand national team
• T'Wolves - Minnesota Timberwolves
• The Wiz - Washington Wizards

Courts

• ACC - Air Canada Centre
• MSG - Madison Square Garden
• The World's Most Famous Arena - Madison Square Garden

Moves

• The "Hinrich Maneuver" - Kirk Hinrich's dribbling toward the basket trying to make a play
• The "Lister Blister" - A highlight dunk made by Shawn Kemp over Alton Lister in the mid-1990s

See also

• Nickname
• List of baseball nicknames
• List of hockey nicknames
• List of athletes by nickname