Chinese nicknames for NBA players

November 2, 2007 7:13 AM

Chinese Nicknames for NBA Players. Find out who the Stone Buddha is and whether he can hold off the German Racecar, the Sweet Melon and the King of Dragons.
posted by srboisvert (27 comments total)

Completely awesome, thanks!
posted by Kwine at 7:14 AM on November 2, 2007

This is very cool. Thanks!
posted by jason's_planet at 7:18 AM on November 2, 2007

I was disappointed by how many of them are just straight translations, but "King of Dragons" for Chris Bosh is fantastic.
posted by oddman at 7:21 AM on November 2, 2007

Chris Bosh
龙王 (Long Wang)
King of the Dragons

I'd be ok with it if people nicknamed me "long wang."

Um, not that anyone hasn't, or anything.

Neat post. "Stone Buddha" for Tim Duncan is my favorite. And what will they call Garnett now that he's no longer "King of the Wolves"?
posted by ibmcginty at 7:25 AM on November 2, 2007

Also, get your own Kung Fu nickname.

I got "Drunken Arm of the East." Excellent.
posted by oddman at 7:26 AM on November 2, 2007

I just hung this up in my classroom. Also, I think Stone Buddha is probably one of the most bad ass sports nicknames ever. Glad Duncan gets to wear it. [SPOILER!!!]
posted by absalom at 7:38 AM on November 2, 2007

Also, get your own Kung Fu nickname.

I put my name in and got "Golden Snake Arm Champion." I changed my first name to its longer version (Matt to Matthew) and got "Golden Snake Spork Champion." It's time to start going by Matthew.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 7:40 AM on November 2, 2007

I like "Little Flying Mouse."

As for my Kung Fu nickname, I'm "Jade Arm" [lastname]. What's so intractable about my last name that it can't become a Kung Fu name?
posted by bassjump at 7:55 AM on November 2, 2007

I got "Anorexic Oregon Grape Grant". I'm not sure I'm doing it right.
posted by cortex at 8:01 AM on November 2, 2007

Let's get ready to rumble! In this corner, we have the "Drunken Arm of the East"...and in this corner...the "Phlegmatic Slug."


"Phlegmatic Slug" (lastname). That's just...not inspiring. It might be a good sockpuppet name though.
posted by never used baby shoes at 8:13 AM on November 2, 2007

'Drunken Monkey Claw'

I would win.
posted by BobbyDigital at 8:34 AM on November 2, 2007

> And what will they call Garnett now that he's no longer "King >of the Wolves"

Probably something that means "King of the Irish" (unless there's a direct translation for Celtics) or "King of Boston."

Either of which is still pretty flippin' sweet.
posted by lord_wolf at 8:35 AM on November 2, 2007

What? Nash doesn't get a nickname? I'm disappointed in my people. That said, Jason "White Chocolate" Williams or Boris "French Magician" Diaw are my favorite.
posted by spec80 at 8:59 AM on November 2, 2007

When I worked in a Chinese restaurant in the late 70's, Kareem Abdul Jabbar was known by the basketball watching maniacs in the kitchen as "Kuchi-Ba".
Which apparently translates into "I-can't-pronounce-this-guys-name-so-fuck-it".
No amount of schooling on my part could change it, so Kuchi-Ba it was.
30 years later, I STILL call him Kuchi-Ba.
posted by SPUTNIK at 9:18 AM on November 2, 2007

And my Kung Fu name is "Retarded Fox".
I can't think of anything better than that.
posted by SPUTNIK at 9:22 AM on November 2, 2007

Charlotte Emeka Okafor 猫王 (Mao Wang) King of the Cats Meaning leader of the Bobcats

Mao Wang also means Elvis in Chinese.
posted by reformedjerk at 9:28 AM on November 2, 2007

Ha, "unstoppable tiger" here. And years ago, while working in a refugee resettlement program, I came across the case file of a Vietnamese family, labled "My Long Dong". Since the filing system was erratic, sometimes following Vietnamese name order and sometimes not, I don't know if that's how the father's name was actually rendered. When I've told that story in the past, the women are embarrassed; the men look envious.
posted by etaoin at 9:44 AM on November 2, 2007

What a difference a middle initial can make:

Full first name + last name = Phlegmatic Slug of the East
Full first name + middle initial + last name = Golden Slug Lackey of the East
Full first name + middle initial = Golden Phoenix God of the East

I think I'll stick with the last one.
posted by CKmtl at 9:47 AM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

Damon Stoudamire -小飞鼠 (Xiao Fei Shu): Little Flying Mouse - For his speed and the ability to pass through opposing players

While I like their story, I think it's because he has this on his arm.
posted by Challahtronix at 10:01 AM on November 2, 2007

"Drunken Tiger"

I practice a variety of Kung Fu called Mai Tai Ho.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:04 AM on November 2, 2007

And what will they call Garnett now that he's no longer "King of the Wolves"?

King of the Leprechauns?
posted by Rock Steady at 10:38 AM on November 2, 2007

I didn't see any knicknames for Yao Ming or Yi Jianlian. You would think that if any NBA players had Chinese knicknames it would be these two.
posted by MikeMc at 10:39 AM on November 2, 2007

'Asthmatic Arm' FTL.
posted by MikeMc at 10:41 AM on November 2, 2007

Mao Wang also means Elvis in Chinese.

Yeah, a lot of those translations are way off, or give incorrect context or something. 战车 means "war chariot", not "racecar". 小飞侠 also happens to be the Chinese name of Peter Pan. 好好 is haohao, not houhou. Et cetera.
posted by jiawen at 11:22 AM on November 2, 2007

"Sweet Melon?" This post was worth it for that alone! Thanks!
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 11:54 AM on November 2, 2007

"Silver Arm" Spear. It helps to have a somewhat vorpal last name already.
posted by oneirodynia at 3:41 PM on November 2, 2007

'Drunken Fox of Questionable Morals' [lastname]

I shite you not.
posted by YoBananaBoy at 9:59 AM on November 3, 2007