Name Dropping: The 10 Worst Current NBA Nicknames

1 of 12

Nicknames and NBA players go together like peanut butter and jelly. Most of them are dubbed by fellow NBA players, the media, coaches, or fans.

Then there are the players who like to nickname themselves.

Some are creative, distinguishing, and fitting. Others are funny and/or make no sense at all.

Here is a list of the ten worst NBA nicknames for current players, in no particular order.

Sasha Vujacic: The Machine

There are two alleged stories behind the nickname.

The first is that during a pre-game shoot around, a bunch of female fans were hooting and hollering at Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic, resulting in his teammates joking that he was a "sex machine."

The nickname was then reduced to "The Machine" for G-rated reasons.

The second is that Phil Jackson used to call Vujacic an "11 o'clock player," meaning that he would light it up with the three-pointers in practice.

Teammates caught on and started calling him the "scoring machine."

Whichever story is true, the nickname is just not fitting for the guy.

Kevin Durant: The Durantula

I guess being named after a spider is cool?

It can be fitting, seeing that Durant's long arms and legs resemble a large spider's.

Tarantulas are known to retreat and hide if their defense tactics are not working.

Good nickname? Hardly.

Kobe Bryant: The Black Mamba

C'mon Kobe. You are arguably one of the best NBA players to date and you pick this?

First of all, Kobe broke the big rule of gaining a nickname—giving yourself one. Secondly, it sounds like a name a pro-wrestler would pick.

Is the nickname related to the snake species? Or does it perhaps have something to do with that court case several years back?

Joel Przybilla: The Vanilla Gorilla

Yes, he's big and he's white. We get it. But he hardly resembles the stature of a gorilla.

Maybe they just needed something else to call him, instead of trying to spit out his last name.

Lebron James: The King

James' "The King" nickname could be debated.

On one hand, he has risen to the top of the NBA as a basketball player, making him the so-called "King."

On the other hand, it isn't quite relevant, seeing that he has yet to be "crowned" as a king with an NBA Championship.

Daniel Gibson: Boobie

Gibson was given his nickname "Boobie" from his mother as a child, and apparently it is sticking with him for life.

Sure, it's a cute nickname a mother would give a child. But as a 24 year old player in the NBA, it isn't very intimidating.

On the flip side, this nickname could work in his favor. If fans scream "boobie" when he gets the ball, it might distract the opposing players, forcing them to look around.

Danilo Gallinari: The Rooster

If you can't tell from his last name, Gallinari is Italian. His nickname when he played in Italy was "Gallo," meaning "Rooster" in English.

Instead of sticking with "Gallo" after being drafted by the New York Knicks, the English equivalent was put into place.

"Gallo" would have been much more acceptable, seeing that not many Americans would know the meaning, perhaps thinking that it was a shortened version of his last name.

And plus, what's the other common English word used for rooster?

Shaquille O'Neal: The Big Aristotle

Shaq quite possibly has the most nicknames of any player in the NBA today. In fact, he has dedicated an arm to the tattooing of nearly all of them.

It is hard to find the relevance between the Aristotle and Shaq. One was a great greek philosopher. The other had a successful NBA run and a failed, yet funny, rapping career.

If Shaq is going to be calling himself "The Big Aristotle," then I want to see him pump out some scientific theories in post-game interviews.

Corey Maggette: Bad Porn

This one is just plain funny.

Think of it this way: "Sure, there's penetrating and scoring, but are you really happy with what you are seeing?" —and the nickname "Bad Porn" was formed.