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governator Retired Number
Joined: 28 Jan 2006 Posts: 25076
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 8:17 am Post subject: NBA players Chinese nick names |
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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/chinese-internet-users-incredible-nicknames-nba-players-210244345.html
LeBron James
English nickname: King James
Chinese nickname: The Little Emperor
I’m not wild about this nickname, but it is refreshing to know there are LeBon haters everywhere.
Russell Westbrook
English nickname: Russ or The Brodie
Chinese nickname: Wei Dude
Wei Dude is good, but Dominating Dude is just a massive upgrade in nicknames for Westbrook.
Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry is a Chinese internet god. (Twitter)
English nickname: Chef Curry
Chinese nickname: F***s the Sky
End the debate. This is the greatest nickname in sports history. And it’s not even close. Baby-Faced Assassin was actually a decent nickname for Curry when he was younger, but ever since he won back-to-back MVP awards and torched just about every 3-point record in NBA history the past six seasons, he’s needed a new one, and Chef Curry just wasn’t cutting it. This? This is incredible, and I dare Mike Breen to scream it on a broadcast instead of his traditional “Bang” if Curry hits a playoff game-winner.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
English nickname: Greek Freak
Chinese nickname: Letters Bro
Greek Freak is good, but Letters Bro is a fantastic nickname for someone with 13 letters in his last name who has given everyone from Chicago Bulls announcer Stacey King to former President Barack Obama fits trying to pronounce it. But you already knew that. And Giannis already knew it, too. When a Chinese reporter alerted him of this nickname in November, Antetokounmpo said, “It’s cool.” Yes, it is.
Kobe Bryant
English nickname: Mamba
Chinese nickname: Snail Shell
This one needs some work.
Manu Ginobili
English nickname: The Magician
Chinese nickname: The Demon Blade
Ginobili has had some pretty incredible nicknames over the years, from El Contusione to BatManu to Obi-Wan Ginobili, but The Demon Blade tops them all. If the one for Curry wasn’t so good, this would be the greatest. I call for the Eurostep to be renamed The Demon Blade in his honor when he retires.
Shaquille O’Neal
English nickname: Shaq, Diesel, The Big Aristotle, et al.
Chinese nickname: The Giant Shark
The Giant Shark? Not great. O’Fat? Perfect.
Klay Thompson
English nickname: Big Smokey
Chinese nickname: The Buddha
We know China’s affinity for Thompson, and Thompson’s affinity for China, so Buddha seems right.
Carmelo Anthony
English nickname: Melo
Chinese nickname: Melon
Melon is just a good nickname, especially for a guy who put up a couple in the playoffs. #StayMe7on
Kevin Durant
English nickname: KD, Durantula, Slim Reaper
Chinese nickname: Schoolbag Du
Durantula and Slim Reaper are pretty great, but Durant was sued over the former and doesn’t like the latter, so Schoolbag Du is the next-best option and a nice reminder that he used to wear a backpack.
Charles Barkley
English nickname: The Round Mound of Rebound
Chinese nickname: The Flying Pig
The Round Mound of Rebound is pretty perfect, but kudos to Kapur for coming in hot with the “self-explanatory” line there. I have a feeling we’re going to hear about this on “Inside the NBA” for an hour.
Michael Jordan
English nickname: MJ, Air Jordan, His Airness
Chinese nickname: Gang Boss
Instead of the G.O.A.T. debate, everyone should be playing for the title of Gang Boss. Jordan is the Gang Boss for now, but what if LeBron James wins a title with these Cleveland Cavaliers?
Dirk Nowitzki
English nickname: The Dunking Deutschman
Chinese nickname: The German Panzer Tank
Yeah, I’m definitely not on board with any Nazi-related nicknames. None of Nowitzki’s many nicknames have really stuck, but The 7-Foot Schnitzel and The Big Mummy are pretty great.
Tony Parker
English nickname: TP
Chinese nickname: The Little French Sports Car
TP was never a great nickname, if only because of the toilet paper imagery it creates. The Little French Sports Car is a pretty great representation of how Parker played in his prime, so let’s stick with that.
Julius Erving
English nickname: Dr. J
Chinese nickname: J, Ph.D.
If you know Erving, you can call him Dr. J, but this is how you should formally address him now.
Scottie Pippen
English nickname: Pip
Chinese nickname: Second Best Under Heaven
Gang Boss and Second Best Under Heaven has a nice ring to it.
Dwyane Wade
English nickname: D-Wade, Flash
Chinese nickname: Dian Wei
That backstory, though. “He famously died covering for Cao Cao’s retreat when they were ambushed by a rebel army” sounds a lot like Wade’s departure from Miami after LeBron returned to Cleveland following the 2014 NBA Finals, when the San Antonio Spurs handed them a lopsided five-game loss.
Stephon Marbury
English nickname: Starbury
Chinese nickname: Marburyist Political Commissar
Marbury is an even bigger legend in China than he is in the U.S., so they own his naming rights.
Kevin Garnett
English nickname: KG, The Big Ticket
Chinese nickname: King of the Wolves
Garnett does love to howl, but this could use an upgrade after his stay with the Boston Celtics.
Steve Nash
English nickname: Kid Canada
Chinese nickname: Son of the Wind
Should be Sun of the Wind, but still very good.
Tim Duncan
English nickname: Timmy, The Big Fundamental
Chinese nickname: The Stone Buddha
The Big Fundamental is tough to top, but The Stone Buddha has a nice ring to it.
There are so many more in Kapur’s incredible thread. Thank you, Chinese netizens. |
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GoldenThroat Moderator
Joined: 25 Jul 2005 Posts: 37474
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 8:56 am Post subject: |
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There was a thread about this on Twitter yesterday, and it's hysterical.
China has a TON of Laker fans, and yesterday a Chinese fan told me that Dwight Howard was "Magical Beast" when he was with Orlando, but after his disappointing tenure with the Lakers, he's now known as "Evil Baby". |
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Chronicle Retired Number
Joined: 21 Jul 2012 Posts: 31935 Location: Manhattan
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 9:03 am Post subject: |
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Quote: | English nickname: Dr. J
Chinese nickname: J, Ph.D. |
lmao _________________ Kobe |
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dubaholic1 Star Player
Joined: 23 Dec 2004 Posts: 3016 Location: Quality over Quantity
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 11:45 am Post subject: |
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These can easily all be pecker names |
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VicXLakers Franchise Player
Joined: 08 Feb 2006 Posts: 11823
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 12:54 pm Post subject: |
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dubaholic1 wrote: | These can easily all be pecker names |
I thought that all ended with Magic Johnson... |
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Basketball Fan Franchise Player
Joined: 03 Feb 2004 Posts: 24761
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 3:14 pm Post subject: |
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This is interesting learn something new every day |
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dubaholic1 Star Player
Joined: 23 Dec 2004 Posts: 3016 Location: Quality over Quantity
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Posted: Tue May 08, 2018 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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VicXLakers wrote: | dubaholic1 wrote: | These can easily all be pecker names |
I thought that all ended with Magic Johnson... |
Greatest Nickname of all time, pecker or otherwise |
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Frank The Tank Starting Rotation
Joined: 25 Dec 2013 Posts: 113
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Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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Here's a different and better article article about Chinese nicknames for NBA players:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/may/11/chinese-nicknames-nba-players-playoffs
But, trigger warning, Laker players have been given some unflattering nicknames even though there are a lot Laker fans in China:
Quote: | Another example is Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, whose just concluded rookie season was promising but whose shooting was generally worse than advertised. Chinese netizens took to calling Ball “Pavel Korchagin” (保尔柯察金), a pun that is several layers deep.
First, the Chinese characters for “Pavel” (保尔, bǎo ěr) sound very similar to the characters for “Ball” (鮑爾, bào ěr). But more importantly, Pavel Korchagin is the protagonist of a 1930s Soviet socialist realist novel, extremely well-known in China, called How the Steel Is Tempered. The image of “tempering steel” reminds people of how “striking iron” means bad shooting.
Kobe Bryant himself has several amusing nicknames alluding to his low shooting percentage, including “The King of Striking Iron” (打铁王) and “The Los Angeles Blacksmith” (洛杉矶铁匠). Perhaps the most amusing, however, is people calling Kobe “Carbon Monoxide, Ferric Oxide” or “CO, Fe2O3” (一氧化碳, 三氧化二铁), which sounds exactly the same as “He shoots one fadeaway and misses, he shoots three fadeaways and bricks two of them” (一仰化叹, 三仰化二铁). |
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