Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki has one of the better unknown nicknames in the league in “The Big Mummy,” which Mavs assistant coach Darrell Armstrong calls him. However, Dirk has a sick nickname of his own for J.J. Barea, whom he calls “Papa Smurf.”

Nowitzki revealed his term of endearment for his long-time teammate in his reply to a video which showed Barea callously dissing a rookie Dirk Nowitzki bobblehead’s looks and calling it ugly.

The most likely reason Dirk called Barea “Papa Smurf” is because he’s small, old, and has a beard, just like the lovable cartoon character. But for all we know, it could also be because Barea secretly owns a matching pair of red hat and pants just like Papa Smurf, which would be awesome to see him wear one time.

Whatever the reason, the “Papa Smurf” nickname is a nice insight into the relationship between Dirk and Barea, who have now been together in Dallas for nine seasons. Apart from being his longest-tenured teammate, Barea also likely holds a special place in Dirk's heart seeing as J.J. is the only Mavs teammate he has left from that “smurf-tacular” 2011 championship-winning team.