There are countless athletes that have legendary nicknames attached to their brand, but which ones are the best?
Here are the 100 best athlete nicknames of all time.
100 best athlete nicknames of all time
10. William Perry: “The Fridge”
Perry was thrown into the fire as a rookie (1985) on an elite Chicago Bears defense. Totaling five sacks and two fumble recoveries, Perry held his own on a Chicago defense that led them to a Super Bowl triumph. Of course, that’s not all the defensive lineman did, as “The Fridge” punched in two rushing touchdowns in the regular season and another in Super Bowl XX. Perry spent the bulk of his 10-year NFL career with the Bears, with whom he’s ninth in franchise history with 456 solo tackles.
9. Jerome Bettis: “The Bus”
It’s not wise to get in the way of “The Bus.” A six-time Pro Bowler, Bettis was a force to be reckoned with for the Pittsburgh Steelers — and the Rams for the first three years of his career. Surpassing 1,000 rushing yards in eight seasons, six of them coming in Pittsburgh, Bettis is second in Steelers history with 10,571 rushing yards and 78 rushing touchdowns. In his final season (2005), Bettis rushed for nine touchdowns in the regular season and three in the postseason, helping the Steelers win Super Bowl XL.
8. Walter Payton: “Sweetness”
“Sweetness” is how someone could define Payton’s voice. A five-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler, Payton has a case for being the best running back in NFL history. Surpassing 1,000 rushing yards in 10 of his 13 seasons in the sport, Payton is second in league history with 16,726 career rushing yards and fifth with 110 rushing touchdowns. Payton played his entire career with the Bears, with whom he won Super Bowl XX.
7. Wayne Gretzky: “The Great One”
Gretzky, or “The Great One,” was majestic on the ice. A career that saw Gretzky win four Stanley Cup titles in five seasons with the Edmonton Oilers saw him finish as the NHL‘s all-time leader in points (2,857), goals (894) and assists (1,963) by a wide margin. Gretzky led the sport in goals five times, points 11 times and assists 16 times across his 20-year NHL career. Furthermore, Gretzky claimed nine NHL Hart Memorial Trophy honors in the span of 10 years.
6. Calvin Johnson: “Megatron”
When you’re 6-foot-5, have great hands and run like a freight train, you get nicknamed after the leader of the Decepticons. A three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, Johnson was arguably the best wide receiver of his generation. Spending his entire nine-year NFL career with the Detroit Lions, “Megatron” became the franchise’s all-time leader in receptions (731), receiving yards (11,619) and receiving touchdowns (83). Johnson led the NFL in receiving yards twice and posted 1,000-plus receiving yards in seven of his nine seasons.
After a respectable six-year stint with the Minnesota Twins (1997-2002), Ortiz came to the Boston Red Sox in 2003 and became one of the greatest players in franchise history. Earning the nickname “Big Papi,” Ortiz was money for Boston in the postseason, helping it win three World Series (2004, 2007 and 2013). He posted 30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBIs, respectively, in 10 of his 14 seasons with the Red Sox. Ortiz is 17th in MLB history with 541 career home runs.
4. Michael Jordan: “Air Jordan”
Nike saw greatness in Jordan, enough to give him his own signature shoe in 1984, and he shattered the hype. Jordan, who won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, finished his career as a five-time MVP, 10-time scoring champion and 11-time All-NBA honoree. Across his 15-year career, “Air Jordan” finished with a career average of 30.12 points per game, which stands as the best in NBA history.
3. Jerry West: “The Logo”
The NBA logo looks a little bit like West, doesn’t it? An All-Star in each of his 14 seasons in the NBA, which was spent entirely with the Los Angeles Lakers, West — who isn’t what the NBA logo was designed after, wink-wink — helped Los Angeles win the NBA Finals in the 1971-72 season. West is second in Lakers history with 25,192 career points.
2. Deion Sanders “Prime Time”
Sanders was one of the best defensive backs in NFL history, held his own as an MLB player and has coached at the collegiate football level since 2020. Everywhere one looks, Sanders is on in “Prime Time.” An eight-time Pro Bowler, Sanders won the Super Bowl in back-to-back years with two different teams (San Francisco 49ers in 1994 and Dallas Cowboys in 1995) and is tied for fifth in NFL history with nine career pick-sixes.
1. Earvin Johnson: “Magic”
Johnson was “Magic” with the Lakers. He was as gifted of a facilitator as anyone in league history, hit the boards at a high level and was smooth off the dribble as a scorer. The 6-foot-9 floor general was a three-time NBA MVP who led the league in assists four times, averaged double-digit assists per game in nine of his 13 seasons in the sport and was a 10-time All-NBA honoree. Johnson won five NBA titles with the Lakers.
11. Michael Irvin: “The Playmaker”
12. Giannis Antetokounmpo: “The Greek Freak”
13. Jason Williams: “White Chocolate”
14. George Gervin: “The Iceman”
15. Tyrann Mathieu: “Honeybadger”
16. Derek Jeter: “The Captain”
17. Paul Pierce: “The Truth”
18. Allen Iverson: “The Answer”
19. O.J. Simpson: “The Juice”
20. Julius Erving: “Dr. J”
21. Shaquille O’Neal: “Diesel”
22. George Herman Ruth: “Babe” or “The Great Gambino”
23. Darryl Dawkins: “Chocolate Thunder”
24. Kobe Bryant: “Black Mamba”
25. Larry Bird: “Larry Legend”
26. Charles Barkley: “The Great Mound of Rebound”
27. Gilbert Arenas: “Agent Zero”
28. David Robinson: “The Admiral”
29. Gary Payton: “The Glove”
30. Shohei Ohtani: “Sho-time”
31. Larry Bird: “The Hick from French Lick”
32. Kevin Garnett: “The Big Ticket”
33. Rafer Alston: “Skip to my Lou”
34. Vince Carter: “Half Man Half Amazing”
35. Kevin Durant: “Slim Reaper” and “Durantala”
36. Nikola Jokic: “The Joker”
37. Dominique Wilkins: “Human Highlight Reel”
38. Hakeem Olajuwon: “The Dream”
39. Karl Malone: “The Mailman”
40. Mike Tyson: “Iron Mike”
41. Pete Maravich: “Pistol Pete”
42. Tyson Fury: “The Gipsy King”
43. Steve Francis: “The Franchise”
44. Terrell Suggs: “T-Sizzle”
45. Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond, Chris Mullin: “Run T-M-C”
46. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson: “The Splash Brothers”
47. Marshawn Lynch: “Beast Mode”
48. Damian Lillard: “Dame Time”
49. Mariano Rivera: “The Sandman”
50. Johnny Manziel: “Johnny Football”
51. Reggie Jackson: “Mr. October”
52. Joe Namath: “Broadway Joe”
53. Dick Lane: “Night Train”
54. Raghib Ismail: “Rocket”
55. Israel Adesanya: “Stylebender”
56. Shawn Marion: “The Matrix”
57. Daryl Johnston: “Moose”
58. Robert Horry: “Big Shot Bob”
59. Joe Montana: “Joe Cool”
60. Kenny Stabler: “The Snake”
61. Chauncey Billups: “Mr. Big Shot”
62. Christian Okoye: “The Nigerian Nightmare”
63. LeBron James: “King James”
64. Kemba Walker: “Cardiac Kemba”
65. Tyreek Hill: “Cheetah”
66. Carnell Williams: “Cadillac”
67. Diana Taurasi: “White Mamba”
68. Bryant Reeves: “Big Country”
69. Chang Sung Jung: “The Korean Zombie”
70. Chad Johnson: “Ochocinco”
71. Javier Hernandez: “Chicharito”
72. Tim Duncan: “The Big Fundamental”
73. Muhammad Ali: “The People’s Champ”
74. Ronda Rousey: “Rowdy Ronda”
75. Dwyane Wade: “Flash”
76. Bartolo Colon: “Big Sexy”
77. Ed Jones: “Too Tall”
78. Vinnie Johnson: “The Microwave”
79. Anfernee Hardaway: “Penny”
80. Gabbi Douglas: “The Flying Squirrel”
81. Adam Jones: “Pacman”
82. Ray Leonard: “Sugar Ray”
83. Reggie White: “The Minister of Defense”
84. Peyton Manning: “The Sheriff”
85. Wilt Chamberlain: “Wilt the Stilt”
86. Pete Rose: “Charlie Hustle”
87. Eldrick Woods: “Tiger”
88. Ivan Rodriguez: “Pudge”
89. Earl Monroe: “The Pearl”
90. Clyde Drexler: “The Glide”
91. Jon Jones: “Bones”
92. Randy Johnson: “Big Unit”
93. Alex Morgan: “Baby Horse”
94. Mohamad Salah: “The Pharaoh”
95. Donovan Mitchell: “Spida”
96. Dennis Rodman: “The Worm”
97. Frank Thomas: “Big Hurt”
98. Joe Greene: “Mean Joe”
99. David Jones: “Deacon”
100. Conor McGregor: “Notorious”
Honorable mentions:
- Damon Stoudamire: “Mighty Mouse”
- Nick Young: “Swaggy P”
- Nate Archibald: “Tiny”
- Russell Maryland: “The Kitchen”
- Chris Anderson: “Birdman”
- Oscar De La Hoya: “The Golden Boy”
- Lou Gehrig: “The Iron Horse”
- Elroy Hirsch: “Crazy Legs”
- Ted Williams: “The Splendid Splinter”
- Marvin Hagler: “Marvelous Marvin”
- Elbert Woods: “Ickey”
- Andrei Kirilenko: “AK-47”
- Marquise Brown: “Hollywood”
- George Foreman: “Big George”
- Willie Mays: “The Say Hey Kid”
- Hank Aaron: “Hammerin’ Hank”
- Fred McGriff: “Crime Dog”
- Tim Howard: “The Secretary of Defense”
- Evander Holyfield: “Real Deal”
- Joel Embiid: “The Process”
- Sean O’Malley: “Suga Sean”
- Stephen Thompson: “Wonderboy”
- Quinton Jackson: “Rampage”
- Jeremy Lin: “Linsanity”
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: “The Tower from Power”
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