Rankings the best NBA nicknames of all time

22. Skip To My Lou

The rare nickname that originated in a move rather than with a player, Skip 2 My Lou was one of a seemingly endless number of dribble moves Rafer Alston deployed as he rose up the ranks of New York City street and high school basketball. Alston gained notoriety for a 1999 videotape in which he faked defenders to other boroughs and put on a show that, at times, had more in common with stop-motion animation than the NBA.

A God Shammgod or Earl “The Goat” Manigault of his own time, Alston’s dazzling spectacle helped influence the AND1 Mixtape Tour, and the Queens native’s selection out of Fresno State, his third college in three years, in the second round of the 1998 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks lent credence to streetball alumni trying to gain entry to the NBA.

Alston managed to carve out a ten-year career in the NBA, averaging double figures in six seasons and playing for both Van Gundy brothers, under Stan with the Miami Heat and under Jeff with the Houston Rockets. Though legal troubles and behavioral issues overshadowed much of Alston’s career,  he often showcased flashes of the head-spinning ability against opponents that he had practiced on contemporaries in and around New York City parks.

Now, Skip 2 My Lou is a scout with the Minnesota Timberwolves, under Tom Thibodeau, with whom he developed a relationship when Thibs was on the younger Van Gundy’s staff with the Rockets. He’ll always have a special place in the hearts of basketball aficionados for routinely pulling wool over the eyes of defenders near and far.