This year’s NBA Draft prospects are in need of professional nicknames to begin branding their NBA careers. NBA Draft Twitter offers up their best suggestions.
Nicknames have always been an integral part of fan-to-player relationships in professional sports. Giving someone or something a name inevitably ties you closer to them and makes you feel a stronger connection, even if you don’t know them personally all that well.
There’s a good reason why Basketball-Reference and Hoops Hype have devoted time and energy to compiling comprehensive lists of NBA nicknames. Hoops nerds like me adore scrolling their pages to learn that at some point Dion Waiters was given the title of “Kobe Wade”. Or that in addition to being the almighty Time Lord, Robert Williams has also been given the distinction of “Boo Butt”.
That’s why, ahead of the NBA Draft this Wednesday night, I reached out to folks from NBA Draft Twitter multiverse for their suggestions/predictions as to what nicknames might be designated to the prospects of the 2020 class. Some of these might actually happen. Others are purely for some nerdy, basketball humor. Either way, here’s everything you need to know about the nickname potential of the 2020 NBA Draft.
The established monikers
Anthony Edwards (Ant Man or Antman, have seen both) — On top of being one of the best prospects in the class, Edwards’ developed a catchy nickname that’s easy to remember and brings an intimidation factor representative of his physique. He also can be referred to shorthand as “Ant”.
Jalen Smith (Stix) — Maybe not the nickname you want given he earned due to the wiry built of his legs and how easily he could be moved in the post, though as my co-host of the Talking About Podcast Sean Kennedy mentioned to me in our last episode, he has been upgraded to “Logs” since putting on more muscle in preparation for the draft.
Onyeka Okongwu (Big O) — Pretty straight forward given he’s a 6-foot-9 center with awesome shot-blocking skills and an alliterative set of names.
Cassius Winston (Cash) — Fitting given Winston is one of the best shooting prospects in the class, coming in at over 43 percent from deep throughout his four years at Michigan State. Other suggestions I enjoyed from @report_court included “Cassius Winston Churchill”, “Cassius Winston Garland” and “Cassius Counterfeit”.
Nico Mannion (Ginga Ninja) — This one is a deep cut for those who lived on Instagram highlights as a misguided high schooler. A minute-long video with the headline “Ginga’ Ninja” took over the basketball pages on the app roughly five years ago. I also got “Nico Stannions” from @MalikG and “Nico Fannions” from @report_court for nicknames of what his loyal supporters can call themselves.
Tyrese Haliburton (Hali) – A lot of nicknames devolve into easier ways to say longer names. HOWEVER, I was told by a high school classmate of Haliburton’s that whenever he hit a 3, the crowd would chant “Wet-piece Tyrese”. Really hoping that gets picked up in the pros.
NBA Draft Twitter’s best nickname ideas
Now for the fun part. Nicknames will be listed in “quotes”, with the creator of said nickname’s twitter following (And as a reminder, I’d highly recommend following all of these fine folks for Draft content).
James Wiseman (“Father Time” by @mavsdraft or “A Wise Man” by @LaltenNBA) — Obviously the best thing James has going for him is his easily pun-able last name, making both these suggestions somewhat probable in the future. Another one I workshopped was “Baby Bosh”, seeing as many people in mainstream draft have the comped the two, even though a million things would have to break right for Wiseman to become anything close to the player that Bosh was in my opinion.
Killian Hayes (“Killian Haymaker” by @HawksDraftNerd) — The originator of this title, Simon Rath, said this nickname comes with the provision, “Should Killian punch someone in the NBA.” Lol.
Aaron Nesmith (“Aaron Threesmith” by @report_court) — The entire appeal of Nesmith is that he shot an incendiary 52 percent from 3 on over eight attempts per game during his 14-game stint at Vanderbilt this past season, so leaning into his trademark skill for his moniker seems smart.
Deni Avdija (“Deni-god” by @report_court) — This would only be better if Deni was Greek, but alas, the tall, versatile forward hails from Israel. Opportunity missed.
Tyler and Saddiq Bey (no relation) (“Beywatch” by @report_court) — Never underestimate the power of short last names and pop culture references.
Obi Toppin (“Obadiah the Messiah” and “Obi Wan” by @report_court) — As Hubie Brown would say, Obi Toppin’s nicknames have, “tremendous upside potential.” I thought about making a, “he’s going to get spun around like a Beyblade Top” on defense joke but decided I’d take it easy on poor Obi.
Pat Williams (“Will the Thrill” by @report_court) — Rhymes are welcome here.
Grant Riller ( “Grant Thriller” by @report_court) — Very appropriate given his skills as a space creator and acrobatic finisher around the rim.
Josh Green (“Tasmanian Devil” by @mavsdraft) — Green is a native Australian, making for the topical designation, and his ferocious on-ball defense gives the Devil title some justification.
Precious Achiuwa (“Smeagol” by @report_court) — I’ve never been a big Lord of the Rings guy, but even I caught this reference. Much appreciated.
Theo Maledon (“Malegone with the Wind” by @report_court) — If you couldn’t tell, Draft Twitter loves cross-referencing movies and 19-22-year-old basketball players.
Devin Vassell (“Devin Vaseline” by @HawksDraftNerd) — I’m hoping Devin had vaseline on his hands when he fired up those 3-pointers in his infamous workout a few weeks ago.
Aleksej Pokusevski (“Pokumon” by @HawksDraftNerd or “The Poker” by @FearTheBrown or “Pokerface” by @report_court) — Rooting very hard for “Pokumon” or even “Pokuchu” given it may or may not be the video game that practically raised me from ages eight to 14.
Yam Madar (“Yam Yam” or “Yam Radar” by @FearTheBrown) – Yam Radar also comes with the provision that the Israeli makes some no-look passes according to Shamit Dua. There’s also been some “Israeli Steph Curry” buzz from the remote corners of the internet, to which I say … ew no.
Kira Lewis (“Bony Schroder” by @MalikG) — I don’t know if this is a compliment or an insult, which is very important to me as a ruling elder of the Kira Lewis hive. I’ve also toyed with “Collin Sexton, but with a basic understanding of how to pass and play defense”. Long live Kira.
Trevelin Queen (“Trevelin King of Queens” by @report_court) — A lesser-known prospect whose main appeal is his vertical pop and all-over-the-place energy on the court. His defenders are few, but they certainly treat him as a King or Queen.
Robert Woodard (“Woody” by @hoopgoose) — Simple yet delightful.
Cole Anthony (“The Miner” by @mavsdraft) — It took me far too long to realize that my good friend Richard Stayman was equating “Cole” to coal.
Isaiah Joe (“Chicken Joe “by @TheKevinRice) — Kevin is so much funnier than I am, lol.
Sam Merrill (“Old Man Merrill” by @dan_olinger, “Grandpa Merrill” or “Septuagenarian Sam” by @ivanowskinba, “Medieval Merrill” by @MalikG, “Old Sam Merrill had a farm three eye three eye oh” by @thunderdustin) — Poor Sam Merrill is just trying to live his life in peace and we of Draft Twitter can’t let him off the hook for being a 24-year-old prospect. Also — we have way too much time on our hands.
Zeke Nnaji (“Zeke the Freak” by @dan_olinger) — Again, one of the landmark investors in Nnaji stock speaking here, I could see Zeke getting this awesome name due to his ferocious and emotional demeanor on the court. And as I previously mentioned, I am very much in favor of cliche rhymes for these young prospects. All aboard the Nnaji train.