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These are the nicknames of the Los Angeles Lakers players

While the Lakers nickname dates back to the franchise’s old hometown in Minnesota, the NBA team has seen several nicknames for many players and squads over the years

Reem Abdalazem
Reem Abdalazem
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While the Lakers nickname dates back to the franchise’s old hometown in Minnesota, the NBA team has seen several nicknames for many players and squads over the years
JUSTIN FORDAFP

The Los Angeles Lakers were founded in 1946 as the Detroit Gems. They played in the National Basketball League (NBL) before moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1947 and changing their name to Lakers to reflect the Minnesota state nickname, “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”

Today’s ‘Lakers’ were officially born in 1949 and made a move to Los Angeles in 1960, maintaining the franchise’s storied traditions. They quickly established professional basketball’s first empire, winning four of the first five NBA league titles, and produced some of the greatest players in the game, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, and the late Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers still lead the NBA with the most number of championships won (17), tied with the Boston Celtics. Their “Showtime” era in the 1980s resulted in one of the wildest basketball rivalries ever between the Lakers and the Celtics. Over 73 seasons, the franchise has had a 0.595 win percentage overall with 61 playoff appearances.

One of the reasons for the franchise’s success is the countless talented players they’ve acquired over the years. And with talent comes nicknames. Here are some of the best squad and players’ nicknames over the years:

Los Angeles Lakers players’ nicknames

  • Shaquille O’Neal: Shaq, the Big Aristotle, the Big Shamrock, Shaq, Mayor McShaq, Diesel, Wilt Chamberneezy, the Big Cactus, the Big Shaqtus (and many more)
  • LeBron James – “The King”, “King James”, “(The) L-Train”, “LBJ”, “The Chosen One”, “The Akron Hammer”, “Bron Bron”
  • Michael Jordan – “Air Jordan”, “His Airness”, “MJ”, “The G.O.A.T”, “The Black Cat”
  • Earvin Johnson – “Magic”, “Buck”, “E.J.”
  • Jerry West: Mr. “Clutch”
  • Nikola Jokić – “Joker”
  • Lawhi Leonard – “The Claw”, “Sugar K”
  • Karl-Anthony Towns – “KAT”, “Special-K”, “The Big Meow”
  • Danny Green: “Deadshot”
  • Kyle Kuzma: “Kriss Kross”
  • JaVale McGee: “Kareem Abdul-McGee”
  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: “Smoke Dog” (this better not be on the top of your list, unless you are KCP, in which case I guess it’s fine to have confidence)
  • Troy Daniels: “Layup”
  • Jared Dudley: “Dudz”
  • Frank Vogel: “Frank the Tank”
  • Anthony Davis: “The Angry Bird” (stop it)
  • James Harden – “The Beard”, “El Chapo”

Lakers’ top squad nicknames

  • The Heatles
  • Showtime Lakers
  • Bad Boy Pistons
  • Run TMC
  • Lob City