Many basketball fans know LeBron James as "King James," but in China, he's earned the moniker "The Little Emperor."
Nick Kapur, an assistant professor at Rutgers University and historian of Japan and East Asia, put together a fantastic Twitter thread Monday of Chinese internet nicknames for NBA stars past and present.
A thread of Chinese internet nicknames for NBA players.
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
China is crazy for the NBA, but official sources use boring phonetic transcriptions, failing to take advantage of Chinese characters having both sound and meaning. Chinese netizens have "improved" on these official names.
Lebron James - 小皇帝 "The Little Emperor"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
A play on the English "King James" that is also a slang term for a "spoiled only child" under China's "One Child Policy"
Used more when Lebron was young but now mostly by Lebron haters. His fans prefer 詹皇 (Zhan Wang or "King James").
Russell Westbrook - 威少 "Wei Dude"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
Russ's phonetic name in Chinese (衛斯特布魯克 wei si te bu lu ke) is really long so they shortened it to "Wei Dude."
They also upgraded the "wei" from "guarding" (衛) to "dominating" (威).
Stephen Curry has been given a few nicknames, including "Sprout God," "The Elementary School Student," and the NSFW "F--ks the Sky."
Giannis Antetokounmpo - 字母哥 "Letters Bro"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
Because his last name has...so...many...letters!
Kobe Bryant - 蜗壳 "Snail Shell"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
Kobe is "Snail Shell" because it rhymes with "My [guy] Kobe."
When he was young they called him 小飞侠 or “Peter Pan” (literally "Little Flying Warrior") and at the end he became 唠嗑 (“Chatterbox, Gossip"), which rhymes with "Old Kobe."
Manu Ginobili - 妖刀 "The Demon Blade"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
Perhaps the coolest nickname of them all, Ginobili earned this moniker for his ability to slash to the hoop using tricky footwork like the Eurostep.
Klay Thompson - 佛祖 "The Buddha"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
Because his very short curly hair reminds Chinese people of the Buddha's hairstyle in traditional Chinese art.
Michael Jordon - 帮主 "Gang Boss"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
Jordan's ordinary name in Chinese is 乔丹 (qiao dan), but Qiao is also the surname of Qiao Feng, the leader of the "Beggars' Sect" in popular wuxia martial arts novels, often known simply as "Gang Boss Qiao" (乔帮主).
James Harden - 景德镇镇长 "The Mayor of Jingdezhen"
— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018
Jingdezhen is a town famous for making fragile porcelain, so "Son of Jingdezhen" (景德镇之子) is a term for an NBA flop artist. Harden is perceived to be the best at this "art," so he gets to be the "mayor" of Floptown.
Here are some other noteworthy nicknames:
- Charles Barkley: "The Flying Pig"
- Anthony Davis: "The Thick Brow"
- DeMarcus Cousins: "Younger Female Cousin"
- Joel Embiid: "The Great One"
- Dirk Nowitzki: "The German Panzer Tank"
- Scottie Pippen: "Second Best Under Heaven"
- J.R. Smith: "The Nerve Knife"
- Paul George: "Pickled Chili Pepper"
