Rankings the best NBA nicknames of all time

16. The Pearl

Silky smooth, and the predecessor to any stutter-stepping star you admire today: that is Earl Monroe. A Philly native and #2 overall pick out of Winston-Salem State, Monroe was swishing and dishing before his eventual teammate Clyde Frazier had ever conceived of the phrase.

As a 6’3” combo guard with the Bullets, Monroe blitzed on the fast break and combined with Washington Bullets teammate Wes Unseld for one of the most tantalizing combinations of the early ’70s. He faked and juked his way through defenses, a proto-Harden or Manu of his time, averaging nearly 24 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in his first four years in the NBA before forcing a trade to the New York Knicks.

Though speculation initially surrounded Monroe’s working relationship with Frazier due to their similarly stylish play, but they worked it out, winning two conference titles and an NBA title in 1973. Though Monroe sacrificed some of his offensive burden, he also injected life into the heavily team-oriented Knicks, and he and Frazier quickly learned to play off of each other.

So good was Monroe that he begat Ray Allen a nickname via a different nickname entirely (which, as an aside – bring back multiple nicknames for us to choose from!), as Jesus Shuttlesworth is said to have been named after Black Jesus, Monroe’s moniker with the Bullets. He was a four-time All-Star and had his number retired by both the Wizards (10) and Knicks (15), and he shone for the entirely of his outstanding career. He was Earl the Pearl.