Just as not each and every NBA player can shoot hoop like Michael Jordan or Larry Bird do and not every NBA player has a name as straightforward as “Michael Jordan” or “Larry Bird”. Fortunately, those legendary players’ games caught your attention much more than their names, however that’s not the case for many other NBA players. Some have distinctive, funny or downright confusing names which make you smile and wonder about their name’s source.
During the last 75 years or so, the NBA has given us many memorable player names that have really become part of everyday life. “Jalen” is one of the most common boys’ names at the moment, thanks to the NBA’s Jalen Rose. Similarly, there are a whole lot of children born in the mid-90s were called Shaq or Shaquille after Shaquille O’Neal made his fame around that time.
Here are some of the NBA greats.
Hakeem Olajuwon
Mostly viewed as the most skilled man in the history of basketball, Hakeem Olajuwon’s predominance on the inside was a thing of beauty. He abused many a defender with his trademark “Dream Shake” move. Olajuwon’s game is so legendary that superstars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwight Howard have looked to better their game under his tutelage.
Lonzo Ball
When you’re called is Lonzo Ball, or LaMelo Ball, then you’re meant to play basketball. Sure, a lot of other sports also use balls in competition, however being able to ball is a common term for being able to play basketball.
Lonzo Ball’s opinionated father, LaVar, put a target on his son’s back before he even stepped onto the court in his first professional game however the younger Ball has settled into a solid point guard. His first name of Lonzo is also unique, as it’s not short for Alonzo or anything else, making him the first “Lonzo” in NBA history.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
While Kareem put up a mammoth 38 387 points during his playing days, we can’t look past the fact that he spent a great portion of his career receiving passes from the likes of Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson, the two best point guards of all time.
In addition, his career totals were exaggerated by the fact that he played almost 10 000 years in the NBA. Nonetheless, he was an amazing force who dominated the sport for two decades. He perfected the sky hook, which is one of the most stunning shots the game has ever seen. Also, he was hilarious in Airplane! and fought Bruce Lee in Game of Death, so his cool quotient is very easily the highest of anyone on this list.
Shaquille O’Neal
Shaquille O’Neal was the most influential player of his generation — perhaps of all time. And he remains as popular as CA online casino games to this day. It was borderline unfair how he brutalised defenders with instinctive strength. Shaq led the Los Angeles Lakers to three successive NBA Championships in the early 2000s, winning three Finals MVPs in the process. Also, the 2000 regular season MVP winner was selected to 14 All-NBA Teams in his career.
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