Fri Sep 05, 2008 11:20 am EDT
Knicks good, Nets bad: Ranking the NBA nicknames
Via The Arsenalist and Cuzoogle, and apropos of, I guess, the Sonics transforming into Thunder clouds, Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel decided to sit down and rank all 30 NBA nicknames. His top five monikers: Knickerbockers, Celtics, 76ers, Pistons and Hawks ("simple and regal," BBAAAKKAAAAA!) His bottom five names: Nets, Magic, Pacers ("the reference to another sport is strange"), Clippers and Jazz. Do you agree? What do you think the best and worst nicknames are in the NBA? Anyone else a big fan of the Warriors?
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21 Comments
1 - 21 of 21
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#2: Houston Rockets
#3: Atlanta Hawks (too bad the Braves can't comply to make it an all-bird city)
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1) regional specificity (why Lakers/Jazz fail, but Rockets/Trailblazers succeed)
2) fear-inducing-ness; or, "power I must respect, and maybe be afraid of a little." Like a gorilla, or the devil.
Teams that meet both: Suns, Rockets, Pistons. Teams that fail both: Lakers, Jazz, Bucks, Nets. Probably Raptors as well, since we should finally, after millions of years, stop being afraid of dinosaurs.
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New Jersey Nets - I like the Nets. Makes a lot of sense for a basketball team.
Philadelphia 76ers - American
Sacramento Kings - Regal
Houston Rockets - Power
Detroit Pistons - Perfect name for a Detroit team
Bad:
Denver Nuggets - WTF?
Oklahoma City Thunder - Thunder? In a basketball arena?
Los Angeles Lakers - What lake?
Washington Wizards - Should have just stuck with the Bullets
Minnesota Timberwolves - Just dumb
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Worst names: Celtics (pronounced wrong), Nets, Thunder, Spurs, Jazz
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BEST
1. Knickerbockers (can't argue with that one)
2. Trailblazers (as unique as Knickerbocker, in my humble opinion)
3. Mavericks (implies cowboy, gunslinger, desperado all in one)
4. Warriors (the nickname is awesome... the team... not so much)
5. 76ers (unique AND patriotic)
WORST
26. Heat (only moderately salvageable because the term is moderately linked to basketball - "heat check")
27. Nuggets (i get it... gold nuggets, but it also hints at chicken nuggets and pieces of poop... fabulous)
28. Magic (this would be what a magician does, not a basketball team)
29. Jazz (yeah, play me some more of that Utah sax... almost as bad as...)
30. Thunder (almost anything would have been better, you idiotic Oklahoma City decision makers)
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Trail Blazers (yes it's two words) is obviously the cooooooolest name in the NBA
Supersonics was a close 2nd
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If I remember correctly a "Laker" was another name for a stage - theatrical 'player' (actor) in the early half of last century....
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you don't remeber correctly
lakers were originally the detroit gems
they moved to minneapolis minnesota
the land of 10,000 lakes
and changed their name accordingly
when they moved later to LA they had already been so successful chaning the name at that point didn't make sense
how bout points to the bulls for being a powerful fierce animal, and relative to the location (chicago was a meat packing city, stock yards, the jungle etc)
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The Thunder is already on everyone's hate list--first, Supersonics was perfect for Seattle. Then Oklahoma City (is there such a place?) decides on Thunder? Not the Twisters? Or the Bible Thumpers?
The Lakers could also use a name change: maybe the Quakes or the Shakers or, for the non-"s" ending the Smog or Haze.
Wizards is among the weakest names. And the Magic is too Disney. And the Heat, while appropriate, is another stupid-sounding non-"s"-ending name (Humidity is probably more accurate). Raptors is equally ridiculous.
Detroit is lucky since they were the Fort Wayne Pistons originally. Rockets makes complete sense as does the Mavericks, the 76ers, and...? Trail Blazers is fine. Nuggets could apply to Golden State, really. But what's in a name?
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