NBA stars' Chinese internet nicknames are hilarious

Scrolling through Twitter can lead to a lot of interesting things and that was the case Monday. Nick Kapur who is a historian of East Asia and Japan and also an assistant professor at Rutgers University put together a thread of Chinese Nicknames for some of the biggest stars in the NBA.

Lebron James – 小皇帝 "The Little Emperor"

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").

— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018

For LeBron James, he has taken on a few nicknames, and it depends on if a person is a fan for which one they might use. “The Little Emperor” (小皇帝) also means “spoiled only child” so for people who aren't fans of James that would be the nickname to use.

For the Cleveland Cavaliers fans, the nickname they use is King James. ( 詹皇)

Giannis Antetokounmpo – 字母哥 “Letters Bro”

Because his last name has…so…many…letters!

— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018

One of the better nicknames is Giannis Antetokounmpo who has the nickname of “Letters Bro” (字母哥). Instead of using all the letters of his last name to form a nickname they take the easy way out, and just use letters bro.

James Harden – 景德镇镇长 “The Mayor of Jingdezhen”

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.

— Nick Kapur (@nick_kapur) May 7, 2018

One of the other better nicknames is James Harden who has the Nickname “The Mayor of Jingdezhen” (景德镇镇长).

Harden has picked up quite the reputation of being a flopper and the people of China have caught on naming him after a town that is known for being a fragile porcelain.