List of nicknames used in basketball

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This is a list of nicknames in the sport of basketball. Most are related to professional basketball, although a few notable nicknames from the U.S. college game are included.

Contents 1 Players 2 Teams 3 Courts 4 Moves 5 See also 6 Notes

[edit] Players

It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article entitled List of basketball player nicknames. (Discuss)

• "3D" – Boris Diaw (After his jersey number, and his 3-Dimensional play), Dennis Scott (For his 3 point shooting ability)
• "A-Train" – Andrew Bynum^[1]
• "The Admiral" – David Robinson^[2][3] (he played at Annapolis, and served in the United States Navy for two years after graduation before being allowed to play in the NBA)
• "Action Jackson" – Stephen Jackson (For his on and off court fights and confrontations)
• "Afflalo Creed" – Aaron Afflalo
• "Agent Zero" – Gilbert Arenas^[4] (zero is his jersey number)
• "A.I.", "The Answer" – Allen Iverson (his initials)
• "AI2", "Iggy" – Andre Iguodala (his initials plus the two, since Allen Iverson is the original AI)
• "Air Canada" "Vinsanity" "Half Man Half Amazing"– Vince Carter^[3] (when he played for the Toronto Raptors)
• "Air Jordan", "His Airness" – Michael Jordan^[3][5]
• "Air Zaire" – Dikembe Mutombo^{[citation needed]}
• "Air France" – Mickaël Piétrus^{[citation needed]}
• "AK47" – Andrei Kirilenko; after his initials, jersey number, and with a play on the famous Soviet assault rifle (which was coincidentally designed in his birthplace of Izhevsk)
• "AP" – Anthony Parker
• "Apollo 33", "Bad Moon Rising" – Jamario Moon
• "AR" – Anthony Randolph (also dubbed "Adolf" being born in Germany)
• "Ason Kidd" – Jason Kidd because he had no J (jump shot) early in his career.
• "The ATM" – James Petersen
• "Bassy" – Sebastian Telfair
• "BD", "B-Diddy", "B-Dazzled" "Boom Dizzle", "Ditty Bop," "Black Moses" – Baron Davis
• "Baby 50" Rodney Stuckey Resemblance to rapper 50 Cent
• "Baby joe" – Al Harrington
• "Baby Gramps" – Greg Oden He is a remarkably old looking young man.
• "Baby Jordan" – Harold Miner^[3]
• "Baby Shaq" – Sofoklis Schortsanitis, from his alleged resemblance to Shaquille O'Neal, plus he is slightly smaller size than O'Neal
• "Bad Porn" – Corey Magette, "sure, there's penetration and scoring, but are you really happy with what you are seeing?"
• "The Basketball Jesus" "Larry Legend"– Larry Bird
• "Bean Burrito" – Nick Young N1 due to his first name and number
• "Beans" – Andris Biedrins
• "Beast or Perk" – Kendrick Perkins
• "BEASTley", "B-Easy" – Michael Beasley
• "The Beast" – Patrick Ewing, due to his appearance
• "The Big O" – Oscar Robertson^[3]
• "The Big O" – Oliver Miller
• "Big Al" – Al Jefferson
• "Big Baby" – Glen Davis^[6]
• "Shaq", "The Big Aristotle", "The Big Diesel", "The Big Cactus", "Shaqtus"– Shaquille O'Neal reference to playing in Pheonix
• "Big Ben" – Ben Wallace
• "Big Bird" – Pau Gasol
• "The Big Cat" – Jamaal Magloire
• "Big Country" – Bryant Reeves^[3]
• "The Big Dipper", "Wilt the Stilt" – Wilt Chamberlain^[3][7]
• "Big Dog" – Glenn Robinson^[3]
• "The Big Fundamental" – Tim Duncan^[8] (for his fundamentally sound game)
• "Big Game James" – James Worthy^[3] and James Posey
• "Big Nasty" – Corliss Williamson^[3]
• "Big Red" – Arvydas Sabonis
• "Big Shot Rob" or "Big Shot Bob"^[9] – Robert Horry
• "Big Shot Becky", "Hammontime" – Becky Hammon
• "Big Smooth" – Sam Perkins
• "'Biedrs'" (Latvian for "Partner") – Andris Biedrins
• "Big Snacks" – Jerome James
• "Big Sofo" – Sofoklis Schortsanitis
• "The Big Ticket" – Kevin Garnett
• "Big Z" – Zydrunas Ilgauskas
• "Bimbo" – Vernell Coles
• "Black Jesus" – Amare Stoudemire
• "Black Magic" – Dwight Howard
• "Black Mamba" – Kobe Bryant
• "The Bloodhound" - Dwight Howard (Referencing his ruthless ability to track and block shots)
• "The Blowfish" - Derek Fisher (Cause Derek Fisher Blows)
• "The Boston Celtic Mascot" – Brian Scalabrine
• "Brazilian Blur" – Leandro Barbosa
• "Bird Man" – Chris Andersen
• "Bulletproof" – Andray Blatche
• "The Body Guard" – Baron Davis
• "Boom Dizzle" – Baron Davis
• "Boobie" – Daniel Gibson
• "Booz" – Carlos Boozer
• "The Booze Man" – Carlos Boozer
• "British Bulldog" – Pops Mensah-Bonsu
• "Bron Bron, King James", "Air Apparent" – LeBron James
• "CB4" – Chris Bosh(Initials)
• "The Blonde Bomber" – Dirk Nowitzki
• "B-Roy" – Brandon Roy
• "Bubbachuck" – Allen Iverson (His high-school and college nickname)
• "Buffet of Goodness" – Channing Frye (he has described himself as a buffet of goodness because of his all around skills)
• "Buc The World" – Greg Buckner
• "Bulletproof" – Baron Davis (Since his body is so hard to stop on the basketball court)
• "The Cambyman" – Marcus Camby
• "The Captain" – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
• "Captain Canada" – Steve Nash
• "Captain Crunch" – Jalen Rose
• "Captain Jack" – Stephen Jackson
• "Captain Kirk" – Kirk Hinrich
• "Carlitos" – Carlos Arroyo
• "The Cat" – Cuttino Mobley
• "The Candy Man" – Lamar Odom
• "CB4" – Chris Bosh
• "CDR" – Chris Douglas-Roberts
• "The Chief" – Robert Parish^[3] (after the mute, expressionless character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
• "Chocolate Thunder" – Darryl Dawkins^[3]
• "The Chosen One" – LeBron James
• "Chuck" – Charles Barkley^[3]
• "Cisco" – Francisco Garcia
• "Clyde" – Walt Frazier^[3] (after the film Bonnie and Clyde, due to his flamboyant clothes)
• "Clyde the Glide" – Clyde Drexler^[3]
• "The Cobra" – Kobe Bryant (used by Sportsnet during the 2007–08 season in a commercial. They later revised the commercial to say "Black Mamba".
• "Cool Hand Luke" – Luke Jackson
• "Coop" – Michael Cooper (defensive specialist of the '80's Showtime Lakers, alley-oops to him were called Coop-a-Loops)
• "Cornbread" – Cedric Maxwell^[3]
• "CP3" – Chris Paul and Candace Parker
• "Crash" – Gerald Wallace (because of his physical play in blocking and rebounding)
• "The Croatian Sensation" – Toni Kukoč; rhyming play on his Croatian origin
• "The Custodian" – Brian Cardinal (because he cleans up)
• "C-Webb" – Chris Webber
• "D12" – Dwight Howard
• "The Daily Double" – Dwight Howard (for his consistent scoring and rebounding)
• "Damp" – Erick Dampier
• "DaWhite Howard" – David Lee (reference to him being a white player, and his similar penchant for snarring rebounds ala rebound king Dwight Howard)
• "Defende Reboundo" – Dikembe Mutombo (for his spectacular skills on the defensive end and on the glass, also it rhymes with his name)
• "The Definition" – Martell Webster (a play on his surname (popularized by Webster's Dictionary), given to him by a personal friend)
• "Det the Threat" – Detlef Schrempf
• "Dice" – Antonio McDyess
• "Diesel" – Shaquille O'Neal
• "Skype" - Pat Jefferson
• "The Diggler" – Dirk Nowitzki
• "Dirkules" – Dirk Nowitzki
• "Dirty" – Dirk Nowitzki
• "The Dinka Dunker" – Manute Bol
• "Disaster" – Dan Dickau (Given by Slam Magazine, first for bad play, later with respect for causing disaster to opponents)
• "Disco" – Dirk Nowitzki
• "D-Fish" – Derek Fisher
• "D-Marsh" – Donyell Marshall
• "D-Miles" – Darius Miles
• "D-Mart" – Darrick Martin
• "D-Wade" "Flash" – Dwyane Wade
• "D-West" – Delonte West, David West
• "D-Whistle" – Dwyane Wade (Given to him out because he gets all the calls from the refs.)
• "D-Will" – Deron Williams
• "D-Rose" – Derrick Rose
• "Dr. Dunkenstein" – Darrell Griffith^[3]
• "Dr. J" – Julius Erving^[3]
• "Dr. No" – Joakim Noah
• "Doc Howard" – Dwight Howard
• "Dog" – Tim Thomas
• "Dollar Bill" – Bill Bradley^[3]
• "Doo Be Doo" – Brandon Jennings (given to him at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic game)
• "Downtown Freddie" – Fred Brown^[3] – for his proficiency in the 3-point basket ("from downtown")
• "Dre" – Andris Biedrins
• "The Dream" – Hakeem Olajuwon^[3]
• "The Dunking Dutchman" – Rik Smits
• "Durantula" - Kevin Durant
• "Dynasty" – Yao Ming; given by teammate Steve Francis, pertaining to the Ming Dynasty
• "E-City" – Eddy Curry
• "Earl the Pearl" – Earl Monroe^[3]
• "Earl the Squirrel" – Earl Boykins
• "Earl the Girl" – Earl Boykins
• "The East Coast Assassin" "Agent Zero" – Gilbert Arenas
• "Easy E" – Elden Campbell
• "EB" – Elton Brand
• "EJ" – Eddie Jones; because of his initials
• "El Contusione" – Manu Ginóbili
• "Employee Number 8" – Antoine Walker
• "EO50" – Emeka Okafor (his number in college and the pros is 50)
• "Sam-I-Am" – Sam Cassell
• "Fabio" – Wálter Herrmann
• "Felts" – Raymond Felton
• "Flash" – Dwyane Wade; named after his super-quick superhero counterpart: Flash
• "Flash" – Darrell Armstrong
• "Flip" – Ronald Murray
• "Flight #23" "King James" – LeBron James
• "Flop" – Manu Ginóbili
• "The Flying Dutchman" – Dirk Nowitzki(due to his German heritage)
• "The Franchise" – Steve Francis
• "The Future" – Carmelo Anthony
• "Get Buckets" – Ricky Davis
• "G-Force" – Gerald Wallace
• "G-Money" – Gerald Green
• "Garbage Man" – Michael Bradley
• "Garbo" – Jorge Garbajosa
• "Ghostface" – Joel Przybilla
• "Gil" – Gilbert Arenas
• "The Glove" – Gary Payton^[3] (for his defensive play – (his defense "held" opponents like a "baseball in a glove"))
• "G.P." – Gary Payton
• "G.O." – Greg Oden
• "Go-Go Gadget Arms"^[10] – Kevin Garnett
• "Gollum" – Sam Cassell (from Charles Barkley)
• "Golden Graham" – Joey Graham
• "Grammy Joe" – Joey Graham
• "The Goods, L.O." – Lamar Odom
• "Grandmama" – Larry Johnson^[3] (from his role in a series of Converse commercials in which he portrayed his own grandmother)
• "The Great Speights Coaster" - Marreese Speights (after the 1980's children's television show "The Great Space Coaster")
• "The Great Wall of China" – Yao Ming
• "The Great Garbo" – Jorge Garbajosa
• "Grits N Gravy" – Ricky Davis
• "Ground Hog Day" – Tim Duncan (everything repeats – given by Charles Barkley)
• "Guilty as Charged" – Kobe Bryant
• "H2O" – Allan Houston (after his jersey number)
• "Hair Canada" – Steve Nash (before he changed his hairstyle to a crew cut)
• "The Haitian Sensation" – Samuel Dalembert
• "Half Man, Half Amazing" – Vince Carter (after his performance in the 2000 dunk contest)
• "Half Man, Half Season" – Vince Carter
• "The Hammer" – Matt Carroll, Armen Gilliam, and Shane Heal
• "Hedo" or "Hido" – Hidayet Türkoğlu
• "Hibachi" – Gilbert Arenas (self-named)
• "His Airness" – Michael Jordan
• "His Heinous" – Bill Laimbeer
• "The Hick from French Lick" – Larry Bird
• "Hoffa" – Rafael Araújo
• "Hondo" – John Havlicek^[3] (after the John Wayne movie)
• "Hookey" - Alex Evrard (in reference to skipping college to enter the NBA Draft.)
• "The Hoop Nazi" - Dirk Nowitzki (In reference to his German Heritage and the famous Seinfeld episode 'The Soup Nazi')
• "Hot Plate" – John Sam Williams, normally referred to as simply John Williams; nickname from his large girth, and to distinguish him from John "Hot Rod" Williams. Both of these John Williams's entered the NBA in 1986 from colleges in Louisiana ("Hot Plate" from LSU, "Hot Rod" from Tulane).
• "Hot Rod" – Rodney Hundley^[3] and later John Williams^[3] (not to be confused with John "Hot Plate" Williams)
• "The Human Eraser" – Marvin Webster
• "The Human Highlight Reel" – Dominique Wilkins^[3]
• "The Human Victory Cigar" – Darko Milicic (he only gets off the bench when Pistons had won)
• "Humps" – Kris Humphries
• "Hungry Hungry Hilton" – Hilton Armstrong
• "Hustla MD" – Sean Pettus
• "The Iceman" – George Gervin^[3]
• "Iggy" – Andre Iguodala
• "Indiana Jones" – Fred Jones (plays for the Indiana Pacers)
• "Il Gallo" – Danilo Gallinari
• "Il Mago" – Andrea Bargnani
• "LBJ" – LeBron James
• "J-Kidd" – Jason Kidd
• "J-Chill" – Josh Childress
• "J-Dub" – Jason Williams
• "J-Smoove" – Josh Smith
• "Jazzy Cabbages" – Sarunas Jasikevicius (Given by NBA coach, Don Nelson, since Sarunas' last name is hard to prounounce.)
• "The Jester" – Gilbert Arenas
• "Jesus Shuttlesworth" – Ray Allen (His character name in the Spike Lee movie "He Got Game")
• "The Jet" – Jason Terry and Kenny Smith
• "J-Ho" – Josh Howard
• "J-Max" – Jason Maxiell
• "J-Rich" – Jason Richardson
• "J. Will" – Jason Williams
• "J.J." aka "The Armadillo Cowboy" – Joe Johnson
• "J5" – Josh Howard
• "Joe Cool" aka "The Armadillo Cowboy" – Joe Johnson
• "J.T. Money" – Jason Terry
• "Jungle Jim" – Jim Loscutoff^[3]
• "Junk Yard Dog" – Jerome Williams (for his willingness to do the dirty work)
• "Kandi Man" – Michael Olowokandi^[3]
• "KD" – Kevin Durant (based on his initials)
• "KG" – Kevin Garnett (his initials)
• "The Kid" – Kevin Garnett
• "Kid n' Play" – Kevin Martin
• "Kid Canada" – Steve Nash
• "Kid Delicious" – Kevin Durant
• "Killer" – Reggie Miller
• "King James" – LeBron James
• "Killer Ray" – Ray Allen
• "King of Clutch" – Reggie Miller
• "Ko Ditty Ko" Kobe Bryant
• "K-Mart (the original)" – Kenyon Martin
• "K-Mart (the new)" – Kevin Martin
• "The Kobe Stopper" – Ruben Patterson (based on his defensive performances on Kobe Bryant)\
• "K-Smoove" – Kevin Durant
• "KryptoNate" – Nate Robinson (after stopping Superman in the 2009 NBA all-star Sprite slam dunk contest)
• "The Lethal Lithuanian" – Žydrūnas Ilgauskas
• "The Lithuanian Liquidator" - Linas Kleiza
• "The Little Engine" – T. J. Ford
• "Little General" – Avery Johnson
• "Little New York" – Carmelo Anthony
• "LJ" – Larry Johnson
• "LMA" – LaMarcus Aldridge
• "Lo" – Lamar Odom
• "(The) L-Train" – Lionel Simmons^[3]
• "L-Train" – LeBron James and LaMarcus Aldridge
• "Larry Legend" – Larry Bird
• "Le Roi" (French for "The King") – Antoine Rigaudeau
• "Luifa" - Luis Scola
• "M8E" – Monta Ellis
• "The Machine" – Sasha Vujačić
• "Mad Dog" – Mark Madsen
• "Mad Max" – Vernon Maxwell
• "Mad Max" – Jason Maxiell
• "Maggette Machete" – Corey Maggette
• "Magic" – Earvin Johnson^[3]
• "The Italian Stalion" – Andrea Bargnani (Italian translation – "The Magician"
• "The Mailman" – Karl Malone^[3] ("A Mailman always delivers")
• "Main Event" - Waliyy Dixon
• "The Mamba" – Kobe Bryant
• "The Man Child" – Dwight Howard
• "Mandry" - Carl Landry
• "McNasty – Jeff McInnis
• "The Machine" – Sasha Vujačić (for his ability to suspend in the air)
• "The Poet" – Etan Thomas
• "The Matrix" – Shawn Marion^[11]
• "The Mayor" – Fred Hoiberg^[3]; given to him by his Iowa State teammates because of his extraordinary popularity in the school's home city of Ames, Iowa, where he was raised
• "The Meal Ticket" – Pau Gasol
• "The Medicine Man" – Chris Quinn
• "The Meeks" – Chamique Holdsclaw, Semeka Randall, and Tamika Catchings; used when all three were teammates at the University of Tennessee
• "Melo" – Carmelo Anthony
• "Memo Man" – Ramon Sessions (because of the career highs he sets every game)
• "The Microwave" – Vinnie Johnson^[3] ("gets hot instantly")
• "The Rash" – Bruce Bowen (for his close defense)
• "Mighty Mouse" – Damon Stoudamire
• "Miller Time" – Reggie Miller
• "The Ming Dynasty" – Yao Ming
• "Miracle" – Milt Palacio
• "The Mississippi Bullet" – Monta Ellis
• "Mr. Big Shot" – Chauncey Billups
• "Mr. Clutch" – Jerry West
• "Mr. Incredible" – Mike Dunleavy
• "Mr. Intangible" – Shane Battier
• "Mr. Perfect" – Jeff Green
• "MJ" – Michael Jordan (initials)^[3]
• "Mo Pete" – Morris Peterson
• "The Money Man" – Mehmet Okur
• "Money Mike Jr." – Mike Conley Jr.
• "Monster Mash" – Jamal Mashburn; a play on his surname with the Bobby Pickett song, "Monster Mash"
• "Mongoose Quick Rick" – Ricky Davis
• "Moochie" – Martyn Norris
• "Mookie" – Daron Blaylock^[3]
• "Mooooose Jones" – Mr. Zhones
• "MP2" – Mickaël Piétrus
• "My Pet Maxiell" – Jason Maxiell
• "Nacho" – Gilbert Arenas; from the movie Nacho Libre
• "Nash Daddy" – Steve Nash
• "Nashty" – Steve Nash
• "Never Nervous Pervis" – Pervis Ellison^[3] ( aka "Out of Service Pervis.")
• "The Natural" – Brandon Roy
• "Nick at Night" – Nick Van Exel
• "Nick the Quick" – Nick Van Exel
• "Nickel" – Anfernee Hardaway
• "Ninja" – Sean Elliott
• "Nique" – Dominique Wilkins^[3]
• "Noch" – Andres Nocioni
• "Not Even Rated - Deshawn Stevenson
• "The Ocho" – Jose Calderon
• "The Offensise Juggernaut" - Chuck Hayes
• "One Cent" – Anfernee Hardaway
• "Orange Juice Mayonaise" - OJ Mayo
• "O.T." – Otis Thorpe ^[3]
• "Paper Boy" – Paul Millsap
• "Patient Zero" – Gilbert Arenas (Reference to his name 'Agent Zero' and the three knee surgeries he's had in the past two years)
• "Penny" – Anfernee Hardaway^[3]
• "Picaso" – Pau Gasol
• "Pierco" – Paul Pierce
• "PG2010" – Pau Gasol
• "The Pink Panther" – Toni Kukoc (As listed on his 93–94 Fleer Ultra "Famous Nicknames" card)
• "Pistol Pete" – Pete Maravich^[3]
• "Pitchin' Paul" – Paul Arizin^[3]
• "Pit Bull" – Mike James
• "Plastic Man" – Stacey Augmon^[3]
• "The Poo God" – Manu Ginóbili
• "The Prince of Darkness" – Bill Laimbeer
• "Prince of Mid-Air" – World B. Free
• "The Prince of the Palace" – Tayshaun Prince (The Pistons court is "The Palace of Auburn Hills")
• "Psycho T" – Tyler Hansbrough
• "Q" – Quentin Richardson
• "Q-Rich" – Quentin Richardson
• "Rampant Ron" – Ron Artest
• "Ray-Ray"- Ray Allen
• "The Red Rocket" – Matt Bonner - reference to his hed hair and when Bonner played for the Raptors he would take the subway (a subway is commonly reffered to as 'the rocket' in Toronto) to practices and games citing that he could not afford to drive to work on his entry-level contract.
• "Redd Hot" – Michael Redd
• "Rambo" – Kurt Rambis
• "Rambo" – Marco Belinelli
• "Rashard Threewis - Rashard Lewis - reference to his ability in 3 point shots.
• "Redz" – Delonte West
• "Reef" – Shareef Abdur-Rahim
• "The Reignman" – Shawn Kemp^[3]
• "The Riddler" – Zydrunas Ilgauskas
• "Rip" – Richard Hamilton
• "Ron Ron" – Ron Artest
• "Rooney" – Šarūnas Marčiulionis
• "Roscoe" – Rasheed Wallace
• "The Round Mound of Rebound" – Charles Barkley^[3]
• "ROY" – Brandon Roy, for his Rookie of the Year award
• "Roy Wonder" – Brandon Roy
• "RJ" – Richard Jefferson (His initials)
• "The RuPaul of Big Men" – Chris Bosh
• "Run of the Millsap – Paul Millsap
• "Saba" or "Sabas" – Arvydas Sabonis
• "Sam I Am" – Sam Cassell
• "Saras" or "Sharas" – Šarūnas Jasikevičius
• "Satch" or "Satch Sanders" – Tom Sanders^[3]
• "Scal" Brian Scalabrine
• "Scoreless Williamson" - Corliss Williamson
• "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
• "Shimmy" – Antoine Walker
• "The Show" – Harold Arceneaux
• "The Side Show" - Rajon Rondo(Because Kevin Garnett is the Big Ticket).
• "Silk" – Jamaal Wilkes^[3]
• "Sir Charles" – Charles Barkley^[3]
• "Skip to My Lou" – Rafer Alston
• "The Slave" – Paul Millsap
• "Slim" – Anthony Randolph^[12]
• "Smitty" – JR Smith
• "Smooth" – Larry Hughes,Chauncey Billups
• "Snap Crackle & Pop" – Pape Sow
• "Socks " – Elliot Perry^[3] (Because he always wore his socks to his knees), Andrew Bynum (Because as a rookie he wore his socks in the shower).
• "The Spanish Armada" – Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon
• "Spanish Chocolate" – Sergio Rodriguez (A reference to his Spanish background, and a play, given their similar eye-catching games, to Jason 'White Chocalate' Williams
• "Special K" – Kelenna Azubuike, Gregory Kelser, Clark Kellogg
• "Speedy" – Craig Claxton
• "Spider" – John Salley^[3]
• "Spud" – Anthony Webb^[3]
• "The 'Stache" – Adam Morrison (for his much-scrutinised moustache)
• "Starbury" – Stephon Marbury
• "Starvin Marvin" – Marvin Williams
• "STAT" – Amare Stoudemire (Standing Tall and Talented)
• "The Stro Show" – Stromile Swift
• "Stevie Franchise" – Steve Francis
• "Studley" – Jared Dudley
• "Sugar" – Ray Allen
• "Superman" – Dwight Howard (Received the nickname in Sprite Slam Dunk Competition 2008 – Saturday, February 16, 2008)
• "Tee Bee" – Terrell Brandon
• "Texas Tornado" – T. J. Ford
• "The Birdman" – Chris Anderson
• "The Black President" – Gilbert Arenas
• "The Hammer" – Kris Humphries
• "The Owl without a Vowel" – Bill Mlkvy^[3]
• "The Straitjacket" – Ron Artest
• "The Thief" – Sedale Threatt^[3]
• "Thunder Dan" – Dan Majerle^[3]
• "Tim Bug" – Tim Hardaway^[3]
• "Timmay" – Tim Duncan
• "Timmy Deucecan" – Tim Duncan
• "Tiny" – Nate Archibald^[3]
• "T-Mac" – Tracy McGrady^[3]
• "T-Pain" – Tracy McGrady (for being constantly injured, ie. in pain) ^[3]
• "Too Easy" – Baron Davis
• "Tough Juice" – Caron Butler
• "TP" – Tony Parker
• "Tractor" – Robert Traylor^[3]
• "Troy Toy" – Troy Murphy
• "The Truth" – Paul Pierce (Having witnessed Pierce play one night, Shaquille O'Neal quoted "Paul Pierce is The Truth")
• "TruWarrior – Ron Artest
• "T-Tom" – Tim Thomas
• "The Turkish Delight" - Hedo Turkoglu
• "Ukraine Train" – Vitaly Potapenko^[3]
• "Uncle Cliffy" – Cliff Robinson
• "The Vanilla Gorilla" – Joel Przybilla
• "Veal" – Brian Scalabrine
• "Videogame James" – LeBron James (It was first said by Drew Gooden after LeBron took over game 5.)
• "Vinsanity" – Vince Carter
• "The Waiter" – Toni Kukoc
• "Wally World" – Wally Szczerbiak
• "The Weather Man" - Ray Allen (Because he makes its rain from downtown.)
• "White Chocolate" – Jason Williams^[3]
• "White Mamba" – Sasha Vujačić (reference to his more famous teammate Kobe Bryant's nickname "Black Mamba"]
• "White Mike" – Mike Miller
• "The White Worm" – Chris Andersen
• "Wild Thing" – Anderson Varejão
• "Wild Wild West" – Delonte West
• "Wince Harder" - Vince Carter (reference to his low pain-tolerance)
• "WoodShaq" – Brendon Haywood
• "The Worm" – Dennis Rodman^[3] (for his wriggling when he played pinball)
• "The X-Man" – Xavier McDaniel^[3]; play on the initial of his first name with the X-Men, a group of superheroes
• "Young Thunder" – Dwight Howard
• "Z" – Žydrūnas Ilgauskas
• "Z-Bo" – Zach Randolph
• "Zeke" – Isiah Thomas^[3]
• "Zo" – Alonzo Mourning^[3]
• "Zoolander" – Zane Johnston

• Magic – Earvin Johnson
• Manu – Manu Ginóbili (A contraction of his real first name of Emanuel.)
• Memo – Mehmet Okur
• Nenê – Nenê (Hilario) (Born Maybyner Rodney Hilario, he was nicknamed Nenê as a child, and like many Brazilian athletes, he was generally known by his nickname. However, unlike most, he actually adopted his nickname as his legal name, though not until after he came to the NBA.)
• Penny – Anfernee Hardaway
• Kiwi - Sean Marks (Native bird in his home country New Zealand)

[edit] Teams

• Baby Bulls – Chicago Bulls
• Ripcity (Portland) – Portland Trail Blazers
• Cavs – Cleveland Cavaliers
• The D-Troit Ballers – Detroit Pistons
• The Dubs – Golden State Warriors
• Knicks – New York Knickerbockers ("Knickerbockers" is the team's rarely-used legal name.)
• The Lakeshow – Los Angeles Lakers
• Fakers – Los Angeles Lakers ("Mainly used in the Boston-area, due to the long standing rivalry with the Lakers.)
• Mavs, "Allas Mavericks" – Dallas Mavericks (the latter name was used during Don Nelson's tenure in derision, as the team played little "D" (defense)
• La ÑBA – Spain national basketball team
• Raps – Toronto Raptors
• Nugs – Denver Nuggets
• Sixers – Philadelphia 76ers
• Sonics, Supes – Seattle SuperSonics
• Showtime – Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s
• T'Wolves – Minnesota Timberwolves
• Timber Puppies – Minnesota Timberwolves
• The Wiz – Washington Wizards
• Celts – Boston Celtics
• C's – Boston Celtics
• The Others – Boston Celtics
• Rox – Houston Rockets
• The Magic - Orlando Magic

[edit] Courts

• The Bosh Pit – Air Canada Centre
• The Hangar – Air Canada Centre, also American Airlines Center
• ACC – Air Canada Centre
• Brick House – Staples Center (because of the frequent number of bad shots taken by the other team)
• Il Madison – Land Rover Arena (Bologna, Italy); a play on Madison Square Garden
• MSG – Madison Square Garden
• The World's Most Famous Arena – Madison Square Garden
• The Mecca – Madison Square Garden
• The Phone Booth – Verizon Center in Washington, DC
• The House That Jordan Built – United Center in Chicago
• The Q – Quicken Loans Arena
• The Key – KeyArena
• The Can – Pepsi Center in Denver
• The Purple Palace – US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ
• The Jungle – TD Banknorth Garden Boston, MA
• The ToyBox – Toyota Center in Houston
• The Mage Stage - Amway Arena in Orlando

[edit] Moves

• Le dunk de la mort (French for "The Dunk of Death") – Vince Carter's famous dunk at the 2000 Olympics in which he literally jumped over 7'2"/2.18 m French center Frédéric Weis
• The "Bulletproof Dunk" – Baron Davis's electrifying dunk on Andrei "AK-47" Kirilenko, during Game 3 of the Golden State Warriors/Utah Jazz series in the 2007 NBA Playoffs.
• The "Lister Blister" – A highlight dunk made by Shawn Kemp over Alton Lister in the mid-1990s
• The "The Killer Crossover" – A crossover dribble move used by former NBA great Tim Hardaway
• The "Shammgod" – A crossover dribble move used by former NBA player God Shammgod
• The "Black Tornado" – A spin move used once by Shaquille O'Neal.
• The "Steve Nash" – Dribbling under the basket and out the other side and still dribbling, looking for a pass.
• The "Dream Shake" – A highlight move made by Hakeem Olajuwon that consisted of 2 fakes.
• The "Shanghai Shake" – A fake spin move made by Yao Ming that ends with a fade away jump shot.
• The "Skyhook" – Towering hook shot over opponents perfected by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

[edit] See also

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

[edit] Notes