Player nicknames

Sports people are mostly known by their nicknames to describe their features, the way they play or just simply to shorten them.   Let’s take a look on the nicknames of NBA greats and the interesting story on how they got them, starting with two famous combatants of the Los Angeles Lakers – Boston Celtics rivalry of the late 70s and 80s.

LARRY BIRD – he gave himself the nickname “The Hick from French Lick”, in reference to his hometown of French Lick, Indiana.  Unlike his equally famous rival who had a flashy nickname and loved the limelight, Bird was the opposite who kept to himself and avoided the media. “Hick means “from the countryside”.  A sportscaster later called him “Larry Legend”.

EARVIN JOHNSON – while playing for Everett High School, a then 15-year-old Johnson scored 36 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and issued 16 assists.  After that game, a sportswriter baptized him “Magic” and until now, the nickname stands as a testament to his basketball wizardry.

JULIUS ERVING – at the peak of Magic and Bird’s rivalry, Erving was nearing retirement.  He was one of the GOATs of the game.  As a young boy, Erving loved to play pickup basketball and because he routinely slices thru defenses and operate on opposing players, he earned the nickname “The Doctor”, later shortened to “Dr. J”.

CHARLES BARKLEY – undersized than most power forwards at 6-6, a much rounder and chubby Barkley somehow found ways to grab rebounds that he was called “The Round Mound of Rebound” in college and it remained throughout his career.  Because he was plump, Barkley had a few other nicknames in college like The Incredible Bulk, Boy Gorge, Chuck Wagon, The Good Time Blimp, Ton of Fun, The Great Wide Hope, Sir Cumference, The Love Boat and The Leaning Tower of Pizza.

DARRYL DAWKINS – long before Shaquile O’Neal did the feat, a Sixer teammate of Dr.  broke two backboards in a year which led the league to use rims with hinges and springs called breakaway rims.  The late Dawkins, because of his powerful dunks was called “Chocolate Thunder”.

KEVIN GARNETT – Garnett was drafted by Minnesota, a team that was forever struggling in the league.  He was the only reason the fans were filling up the arena, hence the nickname “The Big Ticket”.

KOBE BRYANT - “The Black Mamba” was a self-appointed nickname when during an interview with the LA Times, Kobe said, “The mamba can strike at 99 percent accuracy at maximum speed.   That’s the kind  of basketball precision I want to have.”  Sadly, it’s “mamba out” permanently.

Some nicknames are for obvious reasons like James Harden’s facial hair, thus “The Beard” and “The Brow” of Anthony Davis in reference to his unique eyebrows.  Others simply go with their initials like Karl Anthony Towns (KAT), Michael Porter Jr. (MPJ), Michael Kidd Gilchrist (MKG), Michael Carter Williams (MCW), Willie Cauley Stein (WCS), Kentavious Caldwell Pope (KCP), Brandon Ingram (BI) and Kevin Durant (KD).