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.
Players
A Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – "The Captain", "Captain Hook", Bam Adebayo – "Bam" "The Onomatopoeia" Abiodun Adegoke – "Big Naija" Ray Allen – "Ray Ray", "Sugar Ray", "Jesus Shuttlesworth" (after his character in the movie He Got Game) Rafer Alston – "Skip To My Lou" Jose Alvarado – "Grand Theft Alvarado" Chris Andersen – "Birdman" Anthony Anderson – "Double A" Greg Anderson – "Cadillac" Giannis Antetokounmpo – "Greek Freak", "The Alphabet" Carmelo Anthony – "Melo", "Captain America", "The Patriot", "Hoodie Melo" Ogugua Anunoby Jr. – "OG" Nate Archibald – "Tiny" Gilbert Arenas – "Agent Zero", "The Hibachi", "Black President", "Nacho", "Gil", "High-Noon", "The Gambler" Trevor Ariza – "Cobra",Trevor Ariza#Los Angeles Lakers (2007–2009) "Switchblade", "Athreeza" Paul Arizin – "Pitchin' Paul" Stacey Augmon – "Plastic Man"
B Ken Bannister – "The Manimal" (Childhood nickname) Andrea Bargnani – "Il Mago" (The Magician) (In Italy) Charles Barkley – "Chuck", "The Round Mound of Rebound", "Sir Charles", "Prince Charles", "Leaning Tower of Pizza", "Pillsbury Dough Boy", "The Human Refrigerator", "The Flying Coke Machine", "The Crisco Kid", "Boy Gorge" Harrison Barnes – "The Black Falcon", Jim Barnes – "Bad News" Marvin Barnes – "Bad News" (originally because of his basketball skills but later because of his frequent off-court issues) Scottie Barnes – ”Scottier Barney”, ”The Acoustic” Dick Barnett – "Fall Back Baby" Rowan Alexander Barrett Jr. – "RJ" Brent Barry – "Bones" Jerry Baskerville – "Hound" Bradley Beal – "Big Panda" Alfred Beard – "Butch" Michael Beasley – "B-Easy" "Big Mike", "Super Cool Beas" Marco Belinelli – "Beli" Walt Bellamy – "Bells" Gursimrana Singh Bhullar – "Sim" Chauncey Billups – "Mr. Big Shot" Larry Bird – "The Great White Hope" "The Hick from French Lick", "Larry Legend", "Uncle Larry" Bismack Biyombo – "Bizzy Bo", "The Acrobatic from the Democratic (Republic of the Congo)" "BB-8", "Biznation", "Big Bizness" Daron Blaylock – "Mookie" Eric Bledsoe – "The Bledshow" Tyrone Bogues – "Muggsy" Devin Booker – "Book", "D-Book" Chris Bosh – "CB4", "The Boshtrich", Chris Boucher – "Slimm Duck" Bill Bradley – "Dollar Bill", "The Secretary of State", "Mr. President" Shawn Bradley – "The Enormous Mormon" Ignas Brazdeikis – "Iggy" Mikal Bridges – "The Warden" "Brooklyn Bridges" Jon Brockman – "The Brockness Monster" (because he was rarely seen in games) Fred Brown – "Downtown Freddie" (for his proficiency in the 3-point basket, "from downtown") Jalen Brunson – "Captain Clutch", "King of New York" Joe Bryant – "Jellybean" Kobe Bryant – "Black Mamba", "KB-24", "Vino" Jimmy Butler – "Jimmy Buckets", "Jimmy Jordan" (due to multiple historic playoff runs, his resemblance to Michael Jordan, and conspiracy theories that he is actually Jordan's son) D. J. Burns- The "Buuuuurn", "Big Boy", "Beast Boy"
C Joe Caldwell – "Pogo", "Jumping Joe" Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – "KCP" Brian Cardinal – "The Custodian" Antoine Carr – "Big Dawg" Joe Barry Carroll –"Joe Barely Cares", "Just Barely Carroll" Vince Carter – "Vinsanity", "Old Man Vince", "Air Canada", "Half Man Half Amazing", "VC" Michael Carter-Williams – MCW Alex Caruso – "The Bald Mamba", "Carushow" Sam Cassell – "Sam I Am", "The Space-man" Wilt Chamberlain – "Wilt the Stilt", "The Big Dipper" (because as a child he had to '"dip" his head after hitting it on a door frame) Derrick Chievous – "Band-Aid" (who wore one for good luck) Nathaniel Clifton – "Sweetwater" Craig Claxton – "Speedy" Vernal Coles – "Bimbo" Mike Conley - "Bite Bite" DeMarcus Cousins – "Boogie" Bob Cousy – "The Houdini of the Hardwood", "Cooz" Forrest Cox – "Frosty" Jamal Crawford – "J Crossover", "Crawssover Crawford" "L.A.'s Dance Instructor", "Mr And-One" Billy Cunningham – "Kangaroo Kid" Stephen Curry – "Splash Brothers" (Curry and Klay Thompson), "Baby-Faced Assassin", "Chef Curry", "Steph", "The Golden Boy"
D Bob Dandridge – "Bobby D" Dyson Daniels - "The Great Barrier Thief" Anthony Davis - "Brow", "AD", "Glass", "Day-to-day Davis" (for his propensity for injuries) Mel Davis – "Killer" Glen Davis – "Big Baby", "Uno-Uno" Ricky Davis – "Ricky Buckets", "Get Buckets", Grits 'N Gravy, Wrong Rim Ricky Walter Davis – "The Greyhound", "The Candyman", "Sweet D" and "The Man with the Velvet Touch" Darryl Dawkins – "Chocolate Thunder" Dewayne Dedmon – "The Mechanic" Matthew Dellavedova – "Delly" "The Curry Stopper" DeMar DeRozan – "Deebo" Dimitris Diamantidis – "3D" Boris Diaw – "Tea Time" Luka Dončić – "Luka Magic", "The Don", "Devin Booker's father" Luguentz Dort – "Dorture Chamber", "Dortress" Clyde Drexler – "Clyde the Glide" Goran Dragic – "The Dragon", "Gold Dragon" Andre Drummond – "Big Penguin" Tim Duncan – "The Big Fundamental" (for his fundamentally sound game), "Slam Duncan", "Old Man Riverwalk", "Twin Towers" (with David Robinson) Kevin Durant – "KD", "Durantula", "The Servant", "Slim Reaper", "Easy Money Sniper", "Snake"
E Anthony Edwards – "Ant-Man", "Ant" Theodore Edwards – "Blue" (from an older sister, for the color of his face when he was choking as a baby) Pervis Ellison – "Never Nervous Pervis" (during his college days), "Out of Service Pervis" (for his frequent injuries in the NBA) Joel Embiid – "The Process", a self-adopted nickname from a rebuilding process of the 76ers pushed by Sam Hinkie Julius Erving – "Dr. J", The Doctor Patrick Ewing – "The Beast of the East"
F Kahlil Ameer Felder Jr. – "Kay" Derek Fisher – "D-Fish" Eric Floyd – "Sleepy" De'Aaron Fox – "Swipa" Clarence Francis – "Bevo" Steve Francis – "Stevie Franchise" Walt Frazier – "Clyde" (after the film Bonnie and Clyde, due to his flamboyant clothes) James Taft Fredette – "Jimmer", "The Lonely Master", "Jimo Dashen", "The Lonely God" Lloyd Bernard Free – "World", "World B. Free", "The Prince of Midair" Markelle Fultz – "Quick Wash"
G Aaron Gordon – "Air Gordon", Dan Gadzuric – "The Flying Dutchman", Harry Gallatin – "The Horse" Danilo Gallinari – "Il Gallo", "The Rooster" Kevin Garnett – "Big Ticket", "KG", "The Kid" Marc Gasol – "Big Spain", "The Big Burrito" Paul George – "PG-13", "Young Trece", "Playoff P", "Podcast P", "Pandemic P" (After performing poorly in the 2020 NBA playoffs) George Gervin – "The Iceman", "Iceberg Slim", just "Ice" Daniel Gibson – "Boobie" Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – "SGA" "Mr. Buy 2 Get 1 Free" Armen Gilliam – "The Hammer" Artis Gilmore – "A Train" Manu Ginóbili – "The Magician", "Gino", "El Contusione", "Manudona" George Glamack – "The Blind Bomber" (his eyesight was so poor that he had to look at the court lines to determine how hard to shoot). Rudy Gobert – "The Stifle Tower", "The French Rejection" Ben Gordon – "Madison Square Gordon" Marcin Gortat – "The Polish Hammer" Travis Grant – "Machine Gun" Draymond Green "Day-Day", "The Dancing Bear", "Dray" Jeff Green – "Iron Man", "Uncle Jeff", Darrell Griffith – "Dr. Dunkenstein" Robert Gruenig – "Ace" Tom Gugliotta – "Googs",
H Harold Hairston – "Happy" Harvey Wade Halbrook – "Swede" Tyrese Haliburton - "The Haliban" Richard Hamilton – "Rip" Tom Hammonds – "The Terminator" Anfernee Hardaway – "Penny" (from his grandmother's Southern accent calling him "pretty") Tyler Hansbrough – "Psycho T" James Harden – "The Beard", "El Chapo" Tobias Harris – "Tobi & Bobi" (with Boban Marjanović after they remained teammates in three separate organizations due to being packaged together in trade agreements) Isaiah Hartenstein – "Hartenstein's Monster" Connie Hawkins – "The Hawk" Udonis Haslem – "U.D." John Havlicek – "Hondo" (from Mel Nowell, because of Havlicek's interest in Western novels and looking like John Wayne in the film) Elvin Hayes – "The Big E", "E" Tommy Heinsohn – "Ack Ack" (from the sound of a machine gun, since Heinsohn "never met a shot he didn't like or wouldn't take"), "Tommy Gun", "Heinie", Juan Hernangómez – "Juancho", "Bo Cruz", "Cruz Missile" Tyler Herro – "Baby Goat", "Boy Wonder" Mario Hezonja – "Super Mario" Buddy Hield – "Buddy Love" Grant Hill – "G", "G-money" Darnell Hillman – "Dr. Dunk" Charlie Hoefer – "Dutch" Fred Hoiberg – "The Mayor"; 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 Lionel Hollins – "(The) L-Train" Chet Holmgren – "Big Oxtail", "Abraham Lincoln" William Holzman – "Red" Robert Horry – "Big Shot Rob" or "Big Shot Bob" Dwight Howard – "Superman", "Foul on You", (for the large number of fouls called on Howard during the 2010 NBA Playoffs), "D12" Kevin Huerter – "Red Velvet" Rodney Hundley – "Hot Rod" Nah'Shon Hyland "Bones"
I Serge Ibaka – "I-block-a", "Serge Protector", "Air Congo" Andre Iguodala – "Iggy" Zydrunas Ilgauskas – "Big Z" Ersan İlyasova – "Turkish Thunder", "Ghostface Ilya" Brandon Ingram – "B.I.", "Sleepy Reaper" (for his similar physical build to Kevin "Slim Reaper" Durant plus his naturally heavy-lidded countenance) Kyrie Irving – "Uncle Drew", "Kyriediculous", "The Ankletaker" Jonathan Isaac – "The Minister of Defense" Allen Iverson – "A.I.", "The Answer", "Bubba Chuck", "Steven John Ray the Third"
J LeBron James – "King James", "The King", "The Chosen One", "(The) L-Train", "LBJ" "The Akron Hammer", "LeBronto", Bron Bron", "Unc" Richard Lee Jemison III – "Trey" Keith Jennings – "Mister" Earvin Johnson – "Magic", "Buck", "E.J." Gus Johnson – "Honeycomb" Joe Johnson – "Iso Joe" Larry Johnson – "Grandmama" (from his role in a series of Converse commercials in which he portrayed his own grandmother) "LJ" Vinnie Johnson – "The Microwave" ("gets hot instantly") Nikola Jokić – "Joker" Isaiah Joe – "Strokin’ Joe", "Zai" Damon Jones – "The World's Greatest Shooter" Ronald Jones – "Popeye" Sam Jones – "Sad Sam", "Mr. Clutch", "The Shooter" Michael Jordan – "Air Jordan", "His Airness", "MJ", "The G.O.A.T", "The Black Cat"
K Greg Kelser – "Special K" Shawn Kemp – "The Reignman" "The Family Man" John Graham Kerr – "Red" Jason Kidd – "J-Kidd" Andrei Kirilenko – "AK47" Louis Herman Klotz – "Red" Dalton Knecht – "Kneckt 4" Kon Knueppel – "The Konman" Furkan Korkmaz – "Furk the Turk" Toni Kukoc – "Croatian Sensation", "The Waiter", "Euro-Magic" Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – "MKG" Jonathan Kuminga – "The Kum Bucket"
L Trajan Langdon – "The Alaskan Assassin" Meadow George Lemon – "Meadowlark" Lafayette Lever – "Fat" Kawhi Leonard – "The Claw", "Sugar K" Meyers Leonard – "Meyers Legend" Nancy Lieberman – "Lady Magic" Damian Lillard – "Dame Dolla", "Sub Zero", "Logo Lillard", "Dame Time" Jeremy Lin – "Linsanity" Shaun Livingston – "Mid-Range Assassin" Jim Loscutoff – "Jungle Jim", Brook Lopez – "Splash Mountain" Robin Lopez – "RoLo" Bob Love – "Butterbean"
M Ed Macauley – "Easy", "Easy Ed" Mark Madsen – "Mad Dog" Dan Majerle – "Thunder Dan" Karl Malone – "The Mailman", "The Nasty Man", "Mr. 13" Moses Malone – "Chairman of the Boards" Earl Manigault – "The Goat" Pete Maravich – "Pistol Pete" Stephon Marbury – "Starbury" Boban Marjanović – "Bobi & Tobi" (with Tobias Harris after they remained teammates in three separate organizations due to being packaged together in trade agreements) Kenyon Martin – "K-Mart" Kenyon Martin Jr. – "KJ" Patrick Donald Martin – "Dino" Shawn Marion – "The Matrix" Wesley Matthews – "Iron Man" Cedric Maxwell – "Cornbread" (after the title character in the film Cornbread, Earl and Me) Luc Mbah a Moute "The Prince", "Moute Kicks Boute" Miles McBride – "Deuce" Xavier McDaniel – "The X-Man"; (play on the initial of his first name with the X-Men, a group of superheroes) Antonio McDyess – "Dice" Jon McGlocklin – "Jonny Mac" Tracy McGrady – "T-Mac" Dick McGuire – "Tricky Dick", Kevin McHale – "Herman Munster", "The Black Hole" (because of his interest in shooting, once balls were passed to him, they never came back) Dean Meminger – "The Dream"